Solution to Bhaarat’s black money and perhaps world poverty

Solution to black money and perhaps world poverty

By Vishal Gupta

 

Automatic price discovery in Real Estate market is a simple fix to a big problem of black money and persistent high inflation.

September, 2011

Abstract

The profit generated through government or consumer spending is converted into black money by tax evasion and ends up getting parked in the real–estate market. Thus starving the financial instruments or the financial market, which creates sustained jobs and forms the supply curve of an economy. Such inelastic supply of an economy results in inflation and is usually met with increase in interest rates from RBI. Eventually further starving the mass-market, thin-margin businesses, with higher capital costs, more risk and less capital for growth. People would rather save a 30% direct tax and another 10-20% indirect tax by not making invoices and straight away park the money in real estate for immediate gains without getting noticed while corrupting and derailing the entire system of sustained business expansion. The inherent risk of getting caught at a larger scale of manipulation is a further deterrent to scale up businesses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Winston Churchill –

64 years ago

reason for not giving Independence to India.

“Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian
leaders will be of low calibre & men of straw. They will have sweet tongues
& silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power & India will be
lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air & water would be
taxed in India ”

One must not underestimate our human species and its immaculate power.

India will not only wipe out black money and eradicate poverty but also lead the world on how to run an economy and development both secularly and democratically.

Few tiny atoms have changed the world

Only few simple thoughts are needed to transform humanity.”

 

 

 

Table of Contents

Why black money needs to be eradicated?                                                                     4

Why real estate is important?                                                                                                   5

It is the cause for lower GDP and poverty                                                                                        5

Cause for high Inflation                                                                                                                               7

How does it cause more corruption?                                                                                                      8

How does it create poverty?                                                                                                                      9

What has government tried so far?                                                                                  12

A simple fix for real estate transparency                                                                  13

Why should we care about world poverty?                                                              15

Conclusion                                                                                                                                                     17

Annexure I                                                                                                                                                      18

 

 

 

 

Why black money needs to be eradicated?

 

At a five-day anti-corruption convention in 2009 at Doha, United Nations said the cost of political corruption to governments around the world is about 1.6 trillion dollars[1] each year. This does not include the black money generated by the businesses and the tax losses there off. The loss due to this has a spiraling impact on public welfare and public policy.

 

The black money in India alone is stated to be 50%[2] of the GDP of India i.e. another 750 billion dollars a year. It means $250 billion in taxes. It is roughly equal to the Indian budget of $278 billion[3].

 

 

 

 

Why real estate is important?

 

India has 88%[4] assets as non-financial and the debt being as low as 3%. The financial assets only account for 13% of the total wealth of the nation. It shows that out of the 3.5+ trillion dollar wealth of the country, most of it is in the real estate market.

 

It is non-worthwhile to prove how rampant the black money is in the real-estate sector. Indian Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh at the Today Conclave admitted “I think as far as black money in real estate is concerned, unfortunately that is a reality and one way out of this would be to lower the stamp duties,” [5]

 

Tata Housing Development Company Managing Director and CEO Brotin Banerjee in the same meeting remarked – “There has been rampant use of black money in the real estate sector.”

 

The problem is reaching epidemic proportions can be judged from the recent news coverage it has been receiving:

 

The Economic Times reported – “Property market: Biggest sink of black money” – 7th November 2010

 

The Times of India in Goa reported – “Goa real estate boom fuelled by black money” – 20th July 2011

 

The Business Today Mumbai reported real estate as – “The black money vault” – 20th March 2011

 

The Business Standard reported: “Black money trail: Dubious real estate deals under I-T scanner” –19th April 2011

 

It is a well-documented fact that the secondary market real estate deals today are generally done in more than 50%[6] hard cash.

 

It is the cause for lower GDP and poverty

 

The development of the economy is directly linked with the development of the financial markets as evidenced by the below mentioned comments in the Global Wealth Data Book 2010 by Credit Susie.

 

 

“Other features of the survey evidence from developing countries capture important real differences. Very high shares of non-financial wealth are found for the two low-income countries in our sample, India and Indonesia, reflecting both the importance of land and agricultural assets and the lack of financial development. On the other hand, the share of non­financial assets in China is relatively modest, possibly because the value of housing is reported net of mortgage debt, and because urban land is not privately owned. In addition, there has been rapid accumulation of financial assets by Chinese households in recent years. Debts are very low in India and Indonesia, again reflecting poorly developed financial markets.”

 

Also the complex mechanism for investment preferences is well presented in a paper in 2008 “Financial Repression, Bank Deposits, Real Assets and Black Money” in which Mr. Gurcharan Das elaborates why the black money influences the investment choices of individuals. It may appeal to common sense that how people would get stuck to an asset class due to inability to park the black money. This puts an artificial ceiling on the investments available to the Primary and secondary financial markets which are the growth factory for jobs and production (GDP) in the economy.

 

The profit generated through government or consumer spending is converted into black money by tax evasion and ends up getting invested in the real–estate market to park black money. Thus starving the financial instruments or the financial market, which creates sustained jobs and forms the supply curve of an economy. People would rather skip 30% direct taxes and another 10-20% indirect taxes and straight away park the money in real-estate for immediate gains without getting noticed while corrupting and derailing the entire system of sustained business expansion. The inherent risk of getting caught at a larger scale is a further deterrent to scale up businesses. A promoter ends up spending substantial time in managing the transaction personally without delegating to maintain secrecy. Lower profits and turnover in books further restricts objective view of business, opportunities for Debt and equity participation.

 


 

Inelastic Supply due to parking of black money

 

Cause for high Inflation

 

Every year, there is a developmental effort from the government like building roads or schemes like rural employment, which may be very well conceived.

It ends up playing havoc with the economy. The 10,000s of crores ends up pushing the demand which then in turn temporarily increases prices and the profit from the inflation ends up getting parked in the real estate as apposed to the financial market, thus starving the supply of capital and making it very inelastic in long term. These developmental efforts are normally met by increase in real estate prices that can very easily be seen from the history of our economy.

 

The government ends up controlling the inflation with increase in interest rates and further reducing the access to capital and negatively impacting supply. The increase in interest rates directly decreases the profitability of businesses and increases the risk of expansion. They especially make the mass-market, low-price, non-branded businesses vulnerably due to already being on thinner margins. The ineffective strategy can be very well be correlated with the fact that India is a global anomaly in terms of having persistent high inflation. The Economist in its article “Bringing tears to Indian eyes” remarks – “In rich countries (with the possible exception of Britain), deflation remains the bigger worry, but India’s inflation is also substantially higher than in other emerging economies.”

 

It continues to say –

 

{Indian policymakers tend to underestimate this trend. In April 2009, the governor of the country’s central bank was quoted as saying that he expected WPI inflation to be at 4% in March 2010. In fact, it was 10.2% that month, and stayed at or above 10% in every month till July. And while the RBI does not formally target inflation, there are plenty who think that it has been too slow to tighten monetary policy. It has in fact been raising rates regularly since March last year, but only very gradually. Some reckon it should have tightened faster. The RBI is, of course, wary of choking off India’s rapid recovery from the slowdown in growth during the global economic crisis. Its governor, D Subbarao, said on January 17th that “For the Reserve Bank the challenge is to calibrate monetary policy taking into account the demands of inflation management and the demand of supportive recovery”.}

 

“The shift of the Indian household sector from deposits to inflation hedges such as property and gold is creating a liquidity crunch in the banking sector that’s unlikely to be solved in the near future,” Kristine Li, senior director of Asia-Pacific credit strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, told Bloomberg. “If banks’ loan growth decelerates, asset quality concerns are likely to return.”

 

 

How does it cause more corruption?

 

The situation may be better understood by an analogy of honeybees. There are several types of opportunities for corruption spread across the country like how different types of flowers exist in an area. There may be multiple colonies of honeybees that prefer different types of flowers. It may include businessmen, legislative, executive, judiciary, NGOs and people from all walks of life. The bees are uncountable and difficult to catch. The nature of bees is to collect honey or create wealth. There are always honeycombs where all the honey gets parked.

 

Examples from Current Scenarios

  • Honeycomb – People buy large areas of agricultural land by parking black money just before a government acquisition and end up converting in white.
  • Flower – In listed companies promoters sell company properties and pocket black money, evade tax and dupe shareholders.

 

We have already established that Real-estate is the biggest honey-comb of the economy and especially India with 87.6% of India’s wealth stored in it. It also is the biggest sink for black or corruption money.

 

How much honey can be parked in gold or cash?

A 25,000 crore scam is equal to 10 tones of gold. It’s very difficult to store such huge quantities of gold without the fear of getting caught or killed.

 

How much honey has been parked in Swiss banks ?

A very well made out empirical study was published recently by Dev Kar from the Global Financial Integrity, Centre for International Policy, Washington DC. He dispelled many myths about the illicit money flows to Swiss banks.

 

“It is estimated that a total of $213.2 billion was shifted out of India between

1948 and 2008, or about 17.7% of India’s GDP at end-2008. Applying rates of return on these assets based on the short-term US Treasury Bill rate, the total gross transfers of illicit assets by Indian residents amount to $462 billion at the end of 2008.”[7]

 

The outflow compared to real estate parking is quite small if we see it on per year basis. So it can easily be inferred that most of the black money is being parked within India and that too in the Real Estate.

 

Easy access and ability to park black money makes honeybees multiply. It attracts honeybees to the top positions.

 

Since one cannot control the spread of flowers or catch the honeybees, it is only wise to remove the honeycombs in the area and the honeybees will have no choice but to go.

 

How does it create poverty?

 

An economy is measured by the GDP of the country. GDP is broadly the demand and supply of the country. Lets take a new perspective on how economy can grow.

 

Lets assume that majority of the people if given the ability to buy and consume a product/service (non luxury) that they can afford would normally choose to consume if given enough wealth. It is also then fir to assume that the majority of demand is a function of income or wealth the people have. Some as such the demand or need to products is either latent or active at any given time depending on their income.

 

So basically, if the economy can provide enough jobs then there is enough demand to consume any products and services. So the bottleneck is really the jobs or the wealth spread.

 

Now if the government starts creating jobs and the demand starts rising then the prices should start increasing and also the profit opportunities. There should then be a matching response by increase supply and book profit. The increase in supply should also lead to job creation and thus create a powerful self-sustained reaction of growth of economy.

 

However in reality, an increase in supply would always need access to cheap capital. India only has $3.5 trillion[8] dollars of capital over a population of 1.2 billion as compared to $54.6 trillion[9] in America for 300 million populations. There is a difference of astonishing 223 times when we also take into account the financial component only. The disparity in wealth is only 23.48 times if we only take non-financial wealth as comparison.  This stark disparity in our asset classes throws the economy off balance when it comes to job creation through further investments.

 

Further to make it worse the debt taken by the public in India is mere 4% of the total wealth. So majority of the capital remains locked away in the real-estate sector and does not even get deployed as collaterals or loans. With high interest rates the risk of doing business goes up and profitability in the stock market goes down. Real-estate becomes an even more attractive option as a safe heaven and especially for tax evasion. This disrupts the chain reaction for job creation. It leads to less spread of income, less taxes, less public welfare projects and only concentration of wealth into properties in established cities and no jobs for the homeless.

 

GDP of a nation should normally be 25% to 32% of the country’s financial wealth. What has perhaps remained unnoticed is that India it is already running at 127%, which is several magnitudes higher. It only shows the lack of capital in the economy.

 

It has some of the following implications:

 

Stock Market or financial assets are under performing as compared to GDP.

  • Businesses not getting listed.
  • Investment in stock market comparatively low.
  • Valuations of businesses listed are very low.
  • Lower valuations or margins are either because of
    • Black money being squeezed out.
    • Interest rates are too high.
    • Low pricing mentality due to price sensitive demand.

 

It is to be noted that the GDP does not include the 50% transactions done in black money. So, the ratio is actually over 200% and almost 10 times normal.

 

Developing the financial wealth

 

To create more businesses or employment we need to either increase the profitability to increase corresponding valuations by plugging leakages of black money or redirect investments into financial assets. The wealth or the capital of the country seems too small compared to GDP in India. It’s therefore needed that the black money portion of the real estate be recognized and made available for loans and capital.

 


 

Developing the non-financial wealth

The capital or the fuel of the supply curve is embedded in the real estate as already seen. So, it is apt for government to allow development of this asset class through FDI. However, with the rampant corruption and involvement of black money in this ever so important sector, it is natural for the foreign investors to find other destinations, which they can deal with easily and remotely.

 

So, it is most important to clean up this sector to unclog the hidden potential and develop it further at all costs for a smoother expansion of the economy and creating jobs.

 

Poverty a closer look 
The figures for India are disturbing. At number 16th on the rankings of poverty gaps, and housing almost 41% of the world poor (World Development Indicators database), there is a lot to be concerned about. There are 1,26,700 Indians who are classified as millionaires (Capgemini, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management), yet a sickening 80% who lives on less than two US dollars a day. The stark contrast between the rich and the poor is probably our biggest challenge in terms of designing effective social and economic policies. India’s priority must become its poor because it is poverty that affects the majority of the population.

 

 

What has government tried so far?

 

The government has done a brilliant job in the stock market by way of demat accounts, policies, procedures and electronic exchanges. It has also tried many ways to control the black money in the real-estate sector.

 

20C. There was a form 37i required under Chapter XXC. It used to act like a crude check on self-reporting on real estate transactions by inducing fear of government take over in case of under reported prices. It was introduced in 1986. It gave powers to the government to acquire the land if it thought it was being sold below the market price.

It was removed in 2002 in the budget as a tax friendly measure by the BJP government under 269UP.

 

Once gone, the real estate has become the major parking method for all money collected in black by either corruption or tax evasion with no way of tracing it. The percentage of black/white being quoted in the property deals has substantially risen in the last decade and so has properties linked with corruption cases (10 times)[10].

 

Why it was really removed is attached under Annexure I – a circular from CBDT on the reasoning behind the change in policy.

 

50C. (1) Where the consideration received or accruing as a result of the transfer by an assessee of a capital asset, being land or building or both, is less than the value adopted or assessed 91 [or assessable] by any authority of a State Government (hereafter in this section referred to as the “stamp valuation authority”) for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of such transfer, the value so adopted or assessed 91 [or assessable] shall, for the purposes of section 48, be deemed to be the full value of the consideration received or accruing as a result of such transfer.

 

This section however only applies capital gains tax at the circle rates and still does not prevent the black money being part of the transaction.

 

 

A simple fix for real estate transparency

 

Short comings of XXc

  • Requires government funds
  • Requires monitoring and not automatic.
  • Does not use market forces and is subjective.
  • Open to corruption and misuse

 

How to over come shortcomings

  • Allow public to bid on transactions once published on net for 14 days in 10% increments. It will act as price check.

 

 

It is proposed that we reenact the chapter XXc and also involve the public in bidding to make the process completely automatic. The mechanism will completely erase the black money being quoted in the real estate transactions.

 

Today’s technology is fully capable to make the whole process online with all documents scanned and made available to public for intervention to make sure that the deal is not priced too low.

 

Some of the Benefits:

  • It will be a deathblow to big corruption.

–     It will make it difficult to store the dirty money.

–     It is too risky to store 1000s of crores in cash of kind at home.

  • Properties will stop trading in black.
  • Will reduce wealth divide by having high-income people to pay more taxes.
  • Banking will be healthier in long term.
  • Tax collections from capital gains and declared income will both go up substantially.
  • Land revenue will go up.
  • Cleans up the majority of the game and encourages fair play across both business and government sections of the society.
  • The businesses will find it hard to park dirty money.
  • Cash in the system will reduce and so will counterfeit notes and shift towards digital economy.
  • All transactions and ownership of land going forward will become traceable.
  • Will result in less property disputes and thus access to more capital in the economy.
  • It benefits the overall economy by making access to capital easier.

 

 


 

Ensuring Price Stability

 

It is recommended that the property transaction be listed on the website as a price check once an approval request is received from the seller and buyer of an agreed transaction like the way it was done in XXc. It is necessary to maintain price stability by making the public bidding mechanism as a price check and not an upfront public auction.

 

 

Ensuring Reliability of deals

 

The paper trail for land ownership and proofs should be made available to public for inspection before the bidding/price-check process. A standard needs to be laid on the documents needed to proceed for sale of a real estate.

 

The government may also choose to mediate the payment process of the winning bidder. There may be a requirement for security deposit before a person or a licensed property dealer can bid.

 

In future the land recorder should be dematerialized or at least maintained electronically to reduce fraud and disputes and increase transparency like the stock market.

 

Ensuring privacy

The buyer and bidder details should be kept confidential till the deal gets finally approved.

 

 

 

Comparison 20c 50c Proposed
Description Government can acquire properties valued lower Properties can not be registered below circle rates Public bidding will ensure there is no black money in a transaction.

 

Status Discontinued in 2002 Active New

 

Price Discovery/check Through self-reporting Region wise Circle Rates Allow public bidding on all private transactions.

 

Method Fear of loosing property Controlled rate cards. Market forces to discover real price.

 

Government Effort Valuation required Circle rates have to be revised Very little –Automatic

 

Short comings Valuations are cumbersome process.

 

Government funds can be misused by collusion.

 

Subjective.

 

Title’s might be disputed and impact the value.

Circle rates do not get revised timely.

 

Rates are always lower than market rates

 

Does not account for value construction or design.

 

Does not include special features of plot like corner, park facing etc.

 

Title might be disputed

 

Rates may temporarily reduce.
Government funds Required Not required Not required
Control on black money. 70-80% 30-60% 90-100%
Tax collections High Low Very high

 

Possibility of corruption/ inaccuracy High – government may choose not to acquire or wrong valuation Low – A state government may choose an area not to be revised in collusion with builders like greater noida.

 

Not possible.
Tax declarations Medium Low Very high (because properties will be going cheap)

 

 

It is not important that we adopt the proposed prognosis (solution) but what is important is to have the right diagnosis of the problem. Only then an appropriate prognosis can be created.

 

Why should we care about world poverty?

 

When we wake up everyday in the morning and even brush our teeth. We fail to realize, how the developed world impacts us. Our new and improved brush designs come from one country. The sink was invented in another. The colgate formulae to secure our teeth, and the technology to supply clean water into the tap our things we depend on but do not see. Even the hot water mix comes from a hot water-gyser that in turn needs electricity and the distribution network. The drains remain functional with the waste management technology in treatment plants and the list never ends.

 

When we drink a glass of water that uses reverse-osmosis technology. We should also realize that the water we think is cleaned with the latest advanced technology is actually in need of an overhaul. We need ionized water (not filter water) which is just coming through and have many disease prevention properties. This is true with the several thousands small things, which touch our daily lives and in turn depend on thousands more. Even when our loved ones get terminally sick, it is only the latest medicines and clinical trials, which come to the rescue. These medicines and genetics are being developed from studying various tribes, nations and diversity of nature. The clinical trials involve many countries including the poor nations. Our luxuries today basically come from a highly integrated society.

 

All this is being accomplished by just 15% of the world population. The more people we have dedicated to developing and delivering products & services the better our lives are going to be. Personally we all have a choice of either trying to be the rich people in a village or a happy citizen of a powerful civilization. Our civilization has a choice of either being divided and harbor poverty that revolts with terrorism and huge military spending. Or we can advance the civilization by being inclusive and take it to places where we have never been before.

 

Today when we choose to agree or objectively disagree on this subject, we either become more aware or find an area where this thought can improve. Both ways the movement gains strength. If we do not take a stand today then we may or may not be able to help our loved ones, 20 years from now, when they fall sick. Lets not try to be the richest person in a village but have the whole village to support each other.

 

Why our 5-minutes a day and not money is more than enough?

 

To understand how we operate and do things is a much deeper discussion and is beyond the technical scope of this particular chapter. But till that time, lets go with the below arguments.

 

 

Even if we formally understand that why we really care for world poverty (which most of us only intuitively do). It is powerful enough to for us to automatically subtly aligning all our thoughts, words and actions towards what we want to achieve. It does not matter if we do something proactively or not. It only matters that we know that what we want. And how important it is for us.

 

“An idea is like a virus that spreads from one head to another.”

 

Our stand on the issue is good enough to have the desired impact. After all we are all connected by only six-degrees of separation[11].

Conclusion

 

Indian economy currently is like a very highly powered agricultural truck with its plow stuck too deep in real estate black money.

 

Automatic price discovery in real estate transactions has potential to eradicate black money and corruption to a large degree. It will not only, increase tax collections but also strengthen the capital markets, reduce inflation and fuel the growth of India.

 

Once the black market gets fixed, it would be possible to sustain a high double-digit growth for the next few decades due to availability of capital and higher valuations. There will be more inclination to invest in financial markets and will help new IPOs.

 

The question we should ask ourselves is that how long can India live without a super strong stock market? Why should FDIs and FIIs trust Indian businesses if we ourselves choose not to invest in it?

 

It is foreseeable that once the framework and policy implications are adopted and the benefits realized then all other developing nations would adopt the same. This does have the potential to uplift billions from poverty. All we need is more powerful economies that spread prosperity and development for a better future of humanity.

 

 

Few simple policies can transform a nation

as much as how small atoms can tilt the balance of power.”

vishalguptadwrt50@gmail.com

 

 

Annexure I

Extracts of  Circular No.8/2002 dated  27.08.2002 issued by CBDT

The scheme of pre emptive purchase of immovable properties under Chapter XX C abolished.

75.1 Under the existing provision contained in Chapter XX C of the Income tax Act, any person intending to transfer immovable property in specified areas at values exceeding specified amounts is required to file a statement in form 37 I before the Appropriate Authority within the prescribed time before the intended date of transfer. The transfer can be registered only if the Appropriate Authority does not pass an order of pre emptive purchase of the property, and issues a no-objection certificate.

75.2 Since these provisions were causing procedural delays in registration of transfers, and with a view to remove source of hardship for the tax payers, the Finance Act, 2002 has, by inserting a new section 269UP in the Income tax Act, made the provisions of the Chapter XX-C inapplicable in respect of any transfer of immovable property effected on or after 1st July, 2002.

75.3 This amendment will take effect from 1st July, 2002

 

50C

37.1 The Finance Act, 2002, has inserted a new section 50C in the Income tax Act to make a special provision for determining the full value of consideration in cases of transfer of immovable property.

37.2 It provides that where the consideration declared to be received or accruing as a result of the transfer of land or building or both, is less than the value adopted or assessed by any authority of a State Government for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of such transfer, the value so adopted or assessed shall be deemed to be the full value of the consideration, and capital gains shall be computed accordingly under section 48 of the Income tax Act.

37.3 It is further provided that where the assessee claims that the value adopted or assessed for stamp duty purposes exceeds the fair market value of the property as on the date of transfer, and he has not disputed the value so adopted or assessed in any appeal or revision or reference before any authority or Court, the Assessing Officer may refer the valuation of the relevant asset to a Valuation Officer in accordance with section 55A of the Income tax Act. If the fair market value determined by the Valuation Officer is less than the value adopted for stamp duty purposes, the Assessing Officer may take such fair market value to be the full value of consideration. However, if the fair market value determined by the Valuation Officer is more than the value adopted or assessed for stamp duty purposes, the Assessing Officer shall not adopt such fair market value and shall take the full value of consideration to be the value adopted or assessed for stamp duty purposes.

37.4 This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2003 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2003 04 and subsequent years.


[2] Global Financial Integrity, Centre for International Policy, Washington DC

[3] Indian Budget Reins in Spending Increases – The Wall Street Journal, Feb 26th  2010

 

[4] Credit Suisse, Global Wealth Data Book 2010, page 76.

[6] More than 50 percent of the value transacted in the secondary market for real estate in Mumbai is made in black money (Jha, 1999)

[7] An Empirical Study on the Transfer of Black Money from India: 1948-2008 by Dev Kar from Global Financial Integrity, Centre for International Policy, Washington DC

[8] Credit Suisse, Global Wealth Data book 2010, pg 72

[9] Credit Suisse, Global Wealth Databook 2010, pg 75

[11] I can do everything for you and give reference. But I care that you fully realize how much we need others all the time. This is here to trigger a particular response.

Towards Making Bhaarat a Vedic Desh

Towards Making Bhaarat a Vedic Desh

Mohan Gupta to S.Poshakwala2

Nationalistic Principles and influencing the psyche of the generation.

Responsibilities of HR (Hindu Religious Endowment) and CE (Charitable Endowments) Department

 

HR & CE Act – A Fraud on Constitution – Cover Story in “Uday India”

http://www.udayindia.org/content_03september2011/cover_story.html

 

By: HARAN BR

 

      Congress created many Strategies for De-Hinduisation of Bhaarat which was intended to stop the reaching of saints and nationalist people out to the masses and conducting a lot of activities which led to the stoppage of conversions.

 

So, in this kind of a hostile atmosphere, if at all the De-Hinduisation of Bhaarat has to be stopped, the Temple Traditions and the Acharya Parampara have to be protected. It is possible only when the Temples are liberated from government control and administered by the local Hindu communities under the guidance and blessings of Acharyas. In this context, it is very imperative to know why the temples have to be freed from the government control, for there are still a considerable number of people who naively believe that temples would be better under the administration of government. There are many aspects around the temples which need to be preserved and protected. They are Temple properties such as lands, buildings, movable properties such as motor vehicles, etc., bank accounts, Temple Jewels, Temple Murthys (Idols), Kaala Poojas and Periodic Festivals, Prasadam (production and distribution) and Hundies.

 

Though we have HR and CE Departments in all the Southern states, let us take Tamil Nadu as an example.

 

A FEW EXAMPLES FOR THE ATTACK ON CULTURAL HERITAGE

 

– — Creating  stories on cultural traditions such as Kumbhmela, Ramlila, etc., and projecting them as barbaric acts.

 

— Denigrating the places of heritage such as Varanasi, Prayag and Gaya etc.

 

— Questioning the practice of Ganesh Visarjanam and projecting it as a practice of hatred against a particular community.

 

— Questioning the Makara Jyothi in Sabarimala thereby denigrating the entire pilgrimage itself.

 

— Denigration of Village Temples and the traditional practices associated with them.

 

— Subjecting to question and debate, the activities of socio-cultural organisations like the RSS, VHP, etc and projecting them in a bad light.

 

Between 1947 and 1990, 31 Acts have been passed with regards to Tenants, Share to the Tenants, protection for tenants, formation of cooperative farming societies on the lands of religious trusts, provision of moratorium, recognition of sub-lessees, inclusion of rent arrears within the ambit of debts, extension of moratoriums, barring eviction of tenants, ex-parte reduction of trusts’ rent, stay of proceedings for collections and eviction, which proved totally detrimental to interests of Temples.

 

The HR and CE dept enjoins the officials concerned to collect the required data of all the holdings of the temples in time and document the following:

 

For every religious institution, there shall be prepared and maintained a register in such form as [the Commissioner] may direct showing– the origin and history of the institution and the names of past and present trustees and particulars as to the custom, if any, regarding

succession to the office of truste; particulars of the scheme of administration and of the data of scale of expenditure; the names of all offices to which any salary, emolument or perquisite is attached and the nature, time and conditions of service in each case; the jewels, gold, silver, precious stones, vessels and utensils and other movables belonging to the institution, with their weights and estimated value; particulars of all other endowments of the institution and of all title-deeds and other documents; particulars of the Murthis (idols) and other images in or connected with the institution, whether intended for worship or for being carried in processions; particulars of ancient or historical records with their contents in brief; such other particulars as may be required by [the Commissioner].

 

No account of Temples under its control

The perennial callousness of the Tamil Nadu government could be gauged from the fact that it doesn’t even know the actual number of temples which fall with the ambit of its own HR and CE Department. For example, from 1961 to 2001, the various government agencies and records have shown the number of temples in Tamil Nadu as ranging from 10,000 to 36,000. The glaring anomaly is that in 1961 the number of temples is shown as10, 532, which came down to 9, 532 the next year (1962). Similarly, in 1992 the then Chief Minister Jayalalitha announced in the assembly that the HR and CE Departments controls 40,000 temples, which came down to 33,700 as announced by her own HR and CE Minister in 1995, whereas in 1989 itself the then minister K.P.Kandaswamy gave the figure as 35,150. Later the number went down to 36,355 in 2002 (DMK period) and at present the number of temples stands at 36,425. If a government doesn’t even know the correct number of temples under its control, how can it be expected to preserve and protect them and their properties?

 

No wonder the department dodges the RTI queries. And the last DMK government attempted to exclude the department from the ambit of RTI Act! T.R.Ramesh, Chennai based Research Scholar and RTI Activist says, “The Dept. gave a shocking reply to a recent query under the RTI Act that it has no records of the ageing arrears or amount due to the temples. This admission alone is enough to boot out this rogue department from the temples.”

 

Unconstitutional ACT and Illegal Appointment

India became a Republic in 1950, and in 1951 the Tamilnadu government took control of the temples. With some changes in 1954 and 1956 the government enacted The Tamilnadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 (Tamil Nadu Act 22 of 1959). Between 1950 and 1959 the Madras High Court and Supreme Court heard different cases concerning Chidambaram Temple, Mulkipetta Venkataramana Temple and Shirur Mutt and ruled in all the cases categorically that the HR and CE Act 1951 was ultra vires of the Constitution and struck down the sections of the Act, which sought to appoint Executive Officers to religious institutions, as arbitrary and unconstitutional.

 

Pointing out the fraud committed by the Tamil Nadu government by enacting the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 (Tamilnadu Act 22 of 1959), Ramesh says, “The Government of Madras introduced a new section [section 45] in the 1959 Act which was even more arbitrary and draconian than Sec. 56 of the 1951 Act. It also retained the Sections 63-68 in the new Act which now carried the numbers 71-76. The only section relating to appointment of Executive Officer that was upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court was not carried in the new Act. But this would not seem strange if we understand that the intention of the Government and the Department was that no appeal safeguards should be provided to the Trustees of Hindu Institutions against the Department’s illegal and arbitrary orders. Sec. 58(3),(b) of the 1951 Act had earlier afforded such safeguards—it was therefore removed by the Government.”

 

TR Ramesh also adds, “More intriguing is the fact that this rogue department continue to appoint Executive Officers under Sec. 64 of the 1959 Act (the equivalent of Sec. 58 in the 1951 Act) without any power to do so. For example, the Deputy Commissioner in 1963 modified the scheme for Shri Kamakshi Amman Temple of Kachipuram, which is under the ownership of the Kanchi Mutt. While proceeding to modify the scheme under Sec. 64 of the Act, the Deputy Commissioner appointed an Executive Officer and this is an illegal act.”

 

Appalling Administration and Mutual Understanding

Tamil Nadu has been alternately ruled by the two Dravidian parties DMK and the AIADMK since 1967. During every election and the resultant change of government, the state has witnessed trading of charges on crime, corruption, nepotism, etc., etc., between the two parties. They would spell out various charges like lack of governance, abuse of power, misappropriation of funds, favouritism, corruption and many more against each other, in almost all departments of government.

 

But, there is one and only one department where they do not point the finger at each other, brazenly collude for a combined loot. This department is a treasure trove – the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department, HR and CE. The state had never seen any kind of corruption charges by either party against the other regarding the administration of over 30,000 temples in the state controlled by HR and CE.

 

                     Notwithstanding  the lack of record about the number of temples under the department’s purview. There has been no proper record of the details of movable and immovable assets of each temple since the inception of HR and CE Department. Many are allegedly looted; many sold at throwaway prices; there is no proper track on collection of rents from the tenants using lands and buildings owned by the temples.

 

Most importantly, it is not clear if there is a proper account of the huge amount of jewels and ornaments belonging to the deities of these thousands of temples, many of them are more than 1000 and 2000 years old. There seems to be no proper auditing system of accounts, revenue and expenditure in place. Reliable sources say that the external auditing of the department has been done away with since 1985. If the government could question about the accounts of a private and denomination temple like the Sabanayagar Temple, Chidambaram, and take control of it, that too against the verdict of the Supreme Court, by citing maladministration by the concerned trust (in this case Podhu Dikshidar Saba) as reason, the same charge can be leveled against the government and the HR and CE Department also, by the general public, particularly the Hindu Bakthas, who worship and contribute regularly to the protection of Temple and its activities. There is nothing wrong if the general public submit an RTI application asking for the accounts of Jewels pertaining to the temples, say for example, a Mannargudi.

 

The politics of divide and rule is the motto of politicians. The secularism is there umbrella on the name of the so called religious bifurcation of India.

From: Radha Rajan

HR (Hindu Religious Endowment) and CE (Charitable Endowments) Act – A FRAUD ON CONSTITUTION

 

             Multi-religious unity is impossible and we should learn this lesson lastingly from the foolishness of Gandhi in hunting for the lost grail. RR

           Hindus, or the non-communal majority within the majority, “who have taken their individuality permitted in Sanatan Dharma (the eternal faith) to the extreme” — or for not being communal enough should be treated as ‘traitors’.

 

——————

 

From: surinder attri

Anthropomorphology of Congress

The English language has some wonderfully anthropomorphic collective nouns for various groups of animals We are all familiar with a Herd of cows, a Flock of chickens, a School of fish and a Gaggle of geese. However, less widely known is a Pride of lions, aMurder of crows (as well as their cousins the rooks and ravens), an Exaltation of doves and, presumably, because they look so wise, a Parliament of owls.

 

Now consider a gathering of Baboons. They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates.

And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons?

Believe it or not ……. a Congress!

 

I guess that pretty much explains the things that come out of our present government led by a party by that name, which has ruled our country for most of the 64 years since the British left us in their hands!

 

1. Quote: And what is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons?

Believe it or not ……. a Congress!

 

2. COMMENT: Around the year 1944, the bulldog-faced Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill, referred to Congressites of India, as a bunch of rogues, rascals, and racketeers.

3. The siblings of those Congressic Naked-Apes ( Naked-Baboons ) have not eschewed from similar alliterative-alignment, by being corrupt, crooked, and culprit. It is quite an act of baboonery.

 

4. To regurgitate a corny-expression:
Letter C in the name Congress, stands for corruption.

Surinder Paul Attri

 

———————

 

 

Evangelical Christianity: Devils in high places

I don’t know where this review appeared but it shows that the British author (who was featured in this thread in the early days) supports Breaking India‘s thesis. –Rajiv Malhotra

Evangelical Christianity: Devils in high places

By Yogesh Pawar

In his explosive new book The Armies Of God: A Study In Militant Christianity, British-born, Malaysia-based academic Iain Buchanan blows the lid off a subject that most scholars and journalists tend to shy away from: the rise of US evangelism as a force in global affairs.

His book looks at how some of the powerful evangelical outfits operate — often as US government proxies — in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and of course, India, and the disastrous effects this has had on the relationship between the Christian West and non-Christian cultures, religious communities and nations. He also unmasks the role played by the seemingly secular `success motivation’ industry, and its leadership gurus such as Zig Ziglar and Ken Blachard, who are not only management experts but also conscious agents of US-style Christian evangelism. Excerpts from an interview:

What led you to write this book?

I grew up in an agnostic family with respect for spirituality of all kinds — from animism to true Christianity. I suppose one of my strongest incentives for writing the book was to show how, in the West, inherently decent things like liberal secularism and Christian spirituality (no necessary conflict here!) are so deeply corrupted by political power and so dishonestly vaunted as marks of cultural superiority.

Not many would want to come out in the open and talk about the issues raised in your book. Was that a concern for you?

In the West, certainly, there is a reluctance to enquire too deeply into the affairs of organised Christianity — both at home and overseas. Western culture is a deeply, subliminally Christian culture, and even committed secularists have trouble avoiding Christian parameters in their arguments, and recognising the Christian capacity for wrong-doing. Among other things, this leads to a rather benign view of the behaviour of our missionaries overseas — fed partly by ignorance, and partly by a sense that the Christian mission can be equated with civilisation. And such myopia has increased dramatically over the past 40years, as the secular West has managed to define a global order largely in its own terms, with decisive help from its Christian missionaries. By contrast, of course, the behaviour of non-Christians (especially Muslims) is scrutinised ruthlessly, misunderstood, and demonised.

Academics who have attempted to study the work of missionaries in India have been accused of helping the right-wing Hindutva brigade. Has this been your experience too?

The glib response to this would be to say that religious extremism of any kind needs to be exposed. But it is more complex than this. There is a need to go beyond the purely religious objection to Christian missionising, and examine the global forces which define it, and which are subverting countries like India in a far more comprehensive and profound way than most people realise.

A key contention of my book is that the extremism of Christian evangelicals is no more benign than the extremism found in non-Christian religious groups. Indeed, its local impact can be hugely destructive — precisely because of its ability to draw upon a vast global network of forces (including powerful secular ones),and its ability to penetrate and shape local forces, whether they be ethnic, religious, political, or social, according to alien priorities.

You speak at length of the US’s use of Christianity for its own geopolitical designs. Is this manifestly part of US strategy worldwide?

Most Western leaders (not just Bush and Blair) will claim they are inspired by their Christian beliefs. Sometimes, as with both Reagan and George W Bush, they quote chapter and verse in support of policy, although usually it is not so blatant. Certainly, deep in Washington, self-professedly Christian pressure groups (like the Fellowship Foundation and the Council for National Policy) have a highly influential membership and a powerful grip on policy.

Of course, one can debate whether US strategy is manifestly Christian in inspiration-few Americans would say it is not, although most would probably insist that such strategy is guided primarily by secular concerns.

But there is no doubt at all that US strategy makes deliberate (and somewhat cynical) use of Christian agencies in pursuit of foreign policy — and that the distinction between the religious and the secular is deliberately blurred in the process. There are over 600US-based evangelical groups, some as big as large corporations, and between them they constitute a vast and highly organised network of global influence, purposefully targeting non-Christians, and connecting and subverting every sector of life in the process.

Most of the major evangelical corporations (like World Vision, Campus Crusade, Youth with a Mission, and Samaritan’s Purse) operate in partnership with the US government in its pursuit of foreign policy goals. World Vision, which is effectively an arm of the State Department, is perhaps the most notable example of this. There is also the benefit of a custom-built legislation, with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 providing necessary sanction to bring errant nations into line.

This means that evangelisation is an intensely secular pursuit, as well as a religious one. In turn, of course, the secular powers, whether they be departments of state or corporate businesses, find such evangelicals to be very effective partners.

Indeed, most missionaries are not obviously religious. A case in point is the Success Motivation industry. Many of the most popular `leadership gurus’ — Zig Ziglar, Paul Meyer, Os Hillman, Richard DeVos, John C. Maxwell, and Ken Blanchard, for example — are not just management experts, they are also evangelical Christians and conscious agents of US-style evangelisation. Conversely, groups which, on the face of it, are primarily religious, may also serve a powerful secular agenda, such as the collection of intelligence, the grooming of political or commercial elites, or the manipulation of local conflicts.

Some accuse the church of fomenting dissent among poor tribals by exploiting them; others say the church is a liberating force. This debate has gone on for decades in India’s North-East. What is your view?

The situation of India’s tribal people, like that of tribal people elsewhere in Asia, is certainly tragic. And it may be that Christian activity offers an opportunity to escape the various forms of homegrown oppression — state and corporate abuse, Hindu contempt, and so on. But Christianity in India is a very diverse thing. There are many situations where the Christian church has taken firm root, and is deeply involved in local administration, social welfare, education, and so on. Nagaland is a case in point. There are movements for tribal welfare elsewhere which are Christian-inspired and doing excellent work.

But there are many cases, too, of evangelical missions which go into tribal areas with little respect for local realities, and with an agenda far removed from tribal welfare. In this, they may be no better and no worse than the home-grown oppressor. But there is an important difference. Such missionaries often belong to an evangelical network whose strategic purpose is defined elsewhere, and which has little loyalty to the local population, its cultures, its communities, and its welfare, let alone to the nation as a whole. This is particularly true of the new breed of US-inspired evangelicals, led by Baptists and Pentecostalist / Charismatics, who have spearheaded evangelisation over the past 50 years. It is the working of this wider, and self-consciously global, structure of behaviour which is of concern.

It is unfortunate that missions doing good work in tribal areas have their efforts tarnished by others whose approach is more opportunistic and exploitative. For the new evangelicals, distaste for paganism is just part of the equation — oppressed tribal groups are relatively easy target to penetrate in a much wider war against non-Christians generally, and for influence in strategic (especially border) areas. In this respect, even a relatively long-established Christian presence — as in Nagaland— has utility as a strategic outpost.

These are turbulent times for India as its number of hungry and poor are growing exponentially even as the wealthy in the cities are becoming billionaires. Does this make harvesting of souls easy? Do missionaries love turbulence?

It certainly seems, sometimes, that evangelicals thrive on suffering and disaster. India’s own KP Yohannan, for example, welcomed the tsunami of 2004 as “one of the greatest opportunities God has given us to share His love with people” — and he was only one of many expressing such sentiments. There is no question that many evangelicals exploit the poor and marginalised for reasons which have a lot to do with narrow theology and political self-interest, and relatively little to do with long-term practical help.

But evangelicals court the wealthy and the powerful of a society with equal passion. One of the most telling features of the new evangelism is the way it has turned Christianity into a force for protecting the rich and powerful. US Protestantism, in particular, has worked hard to undermine the impulse in the church towards social justice and reform. A measure of its success has been the defeat of Liberation Theology and the remarkable expansion of US Pentecostalism in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. More than a quarter of all Christians now belong to Pentecostalist and Charismatic churches.

In these, as in most new evangelical churches, great attention is paid to a `theology’ of economics which stresses individual profit, corporate obedience, the sanctity of making money, and the power of “miracles, signs, and wonders.” This `theology’ is a key part of modern imperialism: it offers something to both rich and poor, it is safely counter-revolutionary, and it ties tightly into the wider global network of more secular influences (in business, government, education, the media, the military) which underpins Western expansion.

So the evangelical church has a key role to play in a society as disparate as India’s. It is a form of social management: it gives divine sanction to the rich, it gives hope to the struggling middle class, and it cultivates discipline (and distraction) amongst the poor — and it does all this with a keen eye to the West’s self-interest. This is not to suggest that India does not have its own mechanisms for doing the same things. But such evangelisation, as a concomitant of Westernisation, is bound to strengthen as India urbanises and looks ever more Westwards.

A recent issue of the Texas-based magazine, Gospel For Asia, says: “The Indian sub-continent with one billion people, is a living example of what happens when Satan rules the entire culture… India is one vast purgatory in which millions of people …. are literally living a cosmic lie! Could Satan have devised a more perfect system for causing misery?” How and why does such propaganda work in a developed country like the US in the era of the Internet and the media?

There are two important points here. First, we must not assume that the `developed’ West is free from willful ignorance. Indeed, willful ignorance is often a very useful weapon. We need enemies, and, as religious people, we need demons. The utility of Islamophobia is a case in point. Besides, there’s a useful role for such bigotry within the system: as a foil for the liberal powerful to prove their liberal credentials.

But such attitudes are nothing new, of course. Christians have waged such ‘spiritual warfare’ against their enemies for centuries, and with the same kind of language. What is new is the vastly increased facility, offered by the electronic media, for fighting such a war. And this is the second point.

New technology is spreading, and hardening, such bigotry. Since the mid-1960s, the evangelical movement has systematically computerised its entire global operation, creating huge databases of information on its non-Christian enemies, centralising administration, and linking some 500 million `Christian computers’ worldwide for the purposes of fighting `spiritual warfare’ against non-believers in strategic places. And `spiritual warfare’, for the evangelical Christian movement, is not just a matter of prayers and metaphor: it is also, very decisively, a matter of `virtuous’ troops, tanks, and drones.

रात को दिन कैसे कह दूं…..?????

      Om B via googlegroups.com

रात को दिन कैसे कह दूं…..?????

by Satish Chandra Mishra

वास्तविक मदारी (सरकार) का डमरू (मीडिया) जो कुछ दिनों के लिए नौसिखिये
मदारियों(टीम अन्ना ) को उधार दिया गया था आज अपने सही मदारी के वापस आ
गया. और देश की जनता को जीत के झूठे गीत सुनाने में व्यस्त हो गया है.
नौसिखिये मदारियों ने भी इसके सुर में सुर मिलाने में ही भलाई समझी और
जैसे तैसे अपनी जान बचाई है. आप स्वयम विचार करिए ज़रा….

अन्ना टीम द्वारा 16 अगस्त का अनशन जिन मांगों को लेकर किया गया था. उन
मांगों पर आज हुए समझौते में कौन हारा कौन जीता इसका फैसला करिए.

पहली मांग थी : सरकार अपना कमजोर बिल वापस ले.
नतीजा : सरकार ने बिल वापस नहीं लिया.

दूसरी मांग थी : सरकार लोकपाल बिल के दायरे में प्रधान मंत्री को लाये.
नतीजा : सरकार ने आज ऐसा कोई वायदा तक नहीं किया.

अन्ना को दिए गए समझौते के पत्र में भी इसका कोई जिक्र तक नहीं.

तीसरी मांग थी : लोकपाल के दायरे में सांसद भी हों :
नतीजा : सरकार ने आज ऐसा कोई वायदा तक नहीं किया.

अन्ना को दिए गए समझौते के पत्र में भी इसका कोई जिक्र नहीं.

चौथी मांग थी : तीस अगस्त तक बिल संसद में पास हो.
नतीजा : तीस अगस्त तो दूर सरकार ने कोई समय सीमा तक नहीं तय की कि वह बिल
कब तक पास करवाएगी.

पांचवीं मांग थी : बिल को स्टैंडिंग कमेटी में नहीं भेजा जाए.
नतीजा : स्टैंडिंग कमिटी के पास एक के बजाय पांच बिल भेजे गए हैं.

छठी मांग थी : लोकपाल की नियुक्ति कमेटी में सरकारी हस्तक्षेप न्यूनतम
हो.
नतीजा : सरकार ने आज ऐसा कोई वायदा तक नहीं किया.

अन्ना को दिए गए समझौते के पत्र में भी इसका कोई जिक्र तक नहीं.

सातवीं मांग : जनलोकपाल बिल पर संसद में चर्चा नियम 184 के तहत करा कर
उसके पक्ष और विपक्ष में बाकायदा वोटिंग करायी जाए. नतीजा : चर्चा 184 के
तहत नहीं हुई, ना ही वोटिंग हुई.
उपरोक्त के अतिरिक्त तीन अन्य वह मांगें जिनका जिक्र सरकार ने अन्ना को
आज दिए गए समझौते के पत्र में किया है वह हैं.

(1)सिटिज़न चार्टर लागू करना,

(2)निचले तबके के सरकारी कर्मचारियों को लोकपाल के दायरे में लाना,

(3)राज्यों में लोकायुक्तों कि नियुक्ति करना.

प्रणब मुखर्जी द्वारा इस संदर्भ में आज शाम संसद में दिए गए बयान(जिसे
भांड न्यूज चैनल प्रस्ताव कह रहे हैं ) में स्पष्ट कहा गया कि इन तीनों
मांगों के सन्दर्भ में सदन के सदस्यों की भावनाओं से अवगत कराते हुए
लोकपाल बिल में संविधान कि सीमाओं के अंदर इन तीन मांगों को शामिल करने
पर विचार हेतु आप (लोकसभा अध्यक्ष) इसे स्टैंडिंग कमेटी के पास भेजें.

आइये अब 16 अगस्त से पीछे की और चलते हैं :

1. शीला शिक्षित की कुर्सी खतरे में पड़ी हुई थी, अजय माकन जी सबसे आगे
थे मुख्यमंत्री बनने की दौड़ में
2. मनमोहन सिंह और “छि:-बे-दम-बरम” का नाम कनिमोझी द्वारा सार्वजनिक कर
दिया गया था,
3. गत 24 अगस्त को हुई पेशी में कनिमोझी ने साफ़ साफ़ कहा की मनमोहन सिंह
और चिदंबरम ने ही Auction प्रक्रिया रुकवाई थी,
4. महंगाई के ऊपर जोरदार बहस चल थी थी, हालांकि महंगाई के मुद्दे पर जो
वोटिंग हुई वो किसी काम की न रही
5. 2G और राष्ट्र्मंडल खेलों के घोटालों के ऊपर भी संसद में जोरदार बवाल
मचा हुआ था और CONGrASS चारों खाने चित्त नजर आ रही थी

कौन जीता..? कैसी जीत…? किसकी जीत…?

देश 8 अप्रैल को जहां खड़ा था आज टीम अन्ना द्वारा किये गए कुटिल और कायर
समझौते ने देश को उसी बिंदु पर लाकर खड़ा कर दिया है.

जनता के विश्वास की सनसनीखेज सरेआम लूट को विजय के शर्मनाक शातिर नारों
की आड़ में छुपाया जा रहा है…..

फैसला आप करें. मेरा तो सिर्फ यही कहना है कि रात को दिन कैसे कह
दूं…..?????

और अंत में एक महान उपलब्धी….
अनशन के समस्त दिनों में कहीं भी मसखरा खुसरा … DIGGvijay Singh नहीं
दिखाई दिया,

और नहीं ही कुटिल सिब्बल की… कुटिल मुस्कान ही दिखाई दी l

अब सब सामने आ जायेंगे, क्योंकि इनकी मौसी भी वापिस आने वाली है

जय श्री राम कृष्ण परशुराम ॐ ….

 

My discovery of Church Tactics

My discovery of Church Tactics

 

synektix synektix@yahoo.com to breakingindia

show details 12:14 PM

 

The act of searching often turns up something useful that one was not looking for.  Last night I discovered that this applies to channel surfing as well. We’ve recently changed cable providers, so I was flipping channels to find the documentary I wanted to watch.

As I scrolled past one of the televangelism channels I noticed something different from the usual preacher-in-paroxysm show.  A priest, clad in corvid catholic garb, was addressing the camera in a low and intense voice, occasionally pausing to display excerpts from what he was reading.  What I saw made me run for scrap paper and pencil.

I took notes as fast as I could, but you wont have to rely on sentence fragments and inadequate recall, because I found the orginal document he was reading from, on the web.  I excerpted portions I found significant and compiled them in a word document, titled “Ad Gentes” — which I will upload into the Files section.

Let me share a few thoughts about that document.

The document in question is the DECREE AD GENTES issued by the Second Vatican Council  It lays out, in exquisite detail, the following:

— the divine mandate for missionary activity culminating in conversion

— the methods to be used by bishops, including

(i)  in-depth study of Christian texts with the ability to answer all challenges

(ii) knowledge of the culture targeted for infiltration and the need to project an appreciative demeanor in order to gain access

(iii) the need for sharing of resources whether human or material between churches to maximize overall impact and penetration

—  the role of the laity in serving as extensions of the missionary agenda

—  the role of educational institutions in furthering the missionary agenda by means of opening up a deeper understanding of the target culture so that it may be more efficiently and systematically destroyed.

Now there might be people on this list who are well aware of what this document says, and will tell me there is nothing shatteringly new about this that was not previously known. Nevertheless, I believe this document could be as much a resource to Hindus as a revelation to some.

How so?

Well, for starters, allegations about the evangelical agenda and modus operandi when made by Hindus, can be caricatured and set aside as paranoid “Hindutva” fundamentalism.  But here you have the highest authority of the Church laying out in their own words, exactly how they conceive of promoting the germination and metastasis of a particular faith system until such time as it extinguishes all other conceptions of Creation, whether theistic or non-theistic. That is the clearly stated goal.

And I do not use the cancer metaphor lightly — the primary characteristic of the cancer cell in its early stages is its genius for disguise.

Secondly, we should reflect on the language in this document that speaks to developing and harnessing human resources for the cause according to each person’s ability.

To me this is a key point to internalize, particularly in light of recent posts criticising/supporting/ disassociating with the RSS and Sangh Parivar. It also has relevance to the frustration expressed here on account of the perceived shortcomings of grassroots activism.

The thing is that none of us is omniscient.  We cannot know, or see, the full effect of our positive contributions.  It would be a mistake for Rajiv — or anyone else for that matter — to assume that the effect of setting a particular line of thinking in motion — is limited to what one directly sees and experiences.

And so, instead of berating and beating up on each other for what we do not see happening, we should be alive to what we do best, and in the words of the Nike ad — Just Do It.  Every single one of us has a role to play and no contribution can be written off as insignificant.

Thirdly, it must be noted that the language in this carefully crafted decree incorporates some wriggle room for interpretation — not just by evangelists, but by their intended victims.  I was particularly interested to find the following:

 ” The Church strictly forbids forcing anyone to embrace the Faith, or alluring or enticing people by worrisome wiles. “

Now what sort of Wiles would the Church find Worrisome ?  They do not specify.  How about asking slum dwellers to throw their religious icons in the gutter?  Or staging spectacles of miraculous healing?  This document should be produced to challenge the legitimacy of some of those methods.

Clearly this is a CYA sentence inserted to pre-empt accusations of coercive practices, when in fact the whole weight of the Church’s strategy rests on tying the gospel to any and every “good deed” performed and every positive outcome observed.

The priest on television specifically exhorted missionaries to NOT forget to promote the gospel when doing good works.  He regretted the fact that some missionaries get so engrossed in their host culture that they forget to evangelize, and he said this was a serious mistake.

And get this — he also pointed to the need to re-evangelize those who were less than diligent in following the faith!  Do you remember the uproar among some US -based activists a few years ago about how Ekal Vidyalayas were attempting to “Hinduize” the communities they served?

 

So Christian evangelization must be protected as “freedom under democracy” — but defensive measures along similar lines to safeguard and preserve indigenous belief systems must be reviled and condemned!  Regardless of what anyone might think about the Sangh Parivar’s methods, their purported lack of intellectual depth and closed-mindedness, or the Ekal Vidyalayas themselves, this is a despicable double standard abetted by self-styled “progressive” voices that must be challenged!  And the Ad Gentes document provides the foundation on which to base that challenge.

In the same paragraph from which I quoted above, the very next sentence says:

By the same token, she ( the Church)  also strongly insists on this right, that no one be frightened away from the Faith by unjust vexations on the part of others.(2)”

Who shall be the arbiter of whether the “vexations” in question are unjust or not?  The Vatican Council sitting in Rome?

The way I see it, evangelism and conversion as conceived by the Christian Harvesting Combine is nothing but moral fascism.  It would be ridiculous for our courts to come up with a law that said every adult had to unconditionally submit to whatever his or her parents decided was best for him or her.  Yet we let people wearing robes and crucifixes run around brainwashing others into believing they are fundamentally flawed and worthless and undeserving of spiritual elevation as they are — and will remain so unless they convert to Christianity!

The West is repelled by human cloning and expresses horror and outrage at Eugenics when it targets blacks and jews for extermination.  Well, evangelism is another word for cultural eugenics.  Its goal has less to do with universal love than the wholesale extermination of humanity’s dazzling diversity of beliefs, to be replaced by a monoculture designated as “superior” or “the only truth.”  And it is as criminally stupid to perpetrate this on humans as is the practice in agriculture.

Evangelism at its root has nothing to do with God, nor even much to do with Jesus.  It is about the basest, most despotic human need for mind control and domination masquerading as a moral mandate.

regards, Chitra

 

Duke Hires Its First Hindu Chaplain

Duke Hires Its First Hindu Chaplain

 

Usha Rajagopalan

Durham, NC – Duke University has hired its first Hindu chaplain. Usha Rajagopalan, who began her part-time role at Duke Aug. 1, will provide guidance for the Hindu Students Association and represent the group on Duke’s Faith Council and in the university’s Religious Life program.

Rajagopalan is fluent in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, and comes to Duke with degrees from Annamalai University in India and the University of Maryland. She has been leading Hindu worship services in the Triangle area and received the 2009 Kathryn H. Wallace Award in Community Service from the Triangle Community Foundation.

“Hinduism, or Sanathana Dharma, is not a religion but a practice, a way of life,” Rajagopalan said. “Deepening understanding of their inner world as they pursue their academic goals allows Hindu students at Duke to receive a holistic education and to practice their Dharma or way of life.”

Duke Chapel Dean Samuel Wells said he welcomes Rajagopalan’s perspective in campus conversations among different faiths.

“I am proud to be part of a campus culture that builds up diverse faiths by bringing them into healthy dialogue and common enterprises with one another,” Wells said. “This is a flowering of our university’s longstanding aspiration to ‘eruditio et religio’ — academic learning and embodied faith.”

Founded in 1998, the Hindu Student Association at Duke organizes scripture studies, Hindu festivals and Hinduism Awareness Week.

The Religious Life program at Duke comprises more than two dozen campus ministries that operate under the oversight of the chapel.

© 2011 Office of News & Communications
615 Chapel Drive, Box 90563, Durham, NC 27708-0563
(919) 684-2823; After-hours phone (for reporters on deadline): (919) 812-6603

Source:  http://today.duke.edu/2011/08/hinduchaplain

 

PARTIAL HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY ATROCITIES

———- Forwarded message ———- From: S. Kalyanaraman <kalyan97@gmail.com> Date: Sun, May 29, 2011 at 11:53 AM Subject: [hc] Partial history of christian missionary atrocities To:

PARTIAL HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY ATROCITIES

The Christian missionary mindset is generally depicted as that of simple religious folk with a pure desire to peacefully spread their gospel and message of love. In reality, their methods of propagation are often anything but peaceful and usually leave behind a native population stripped of their culture and often decimated. With Christianity failing in the west, the evangelists seek new and greener fields in the poor and uneducated sections of third world countries, backed by huge coffers from the less zealous, who are nonetheless convinced that to bring civilization and religion to the poor natives is a noble cause, even if they don’t want it. Missionaries often intermix military campaigns with missionary campaigns in their fervor to “civilize the heathens,” who are often simple happy natives, whose only crime is that they are not Christians. This mood of conquering the heathens by any means, at any cost, is supported in the Bible:

“Thou shalt save alive nothing that breathest. But thou shalt utterly destroy them…” (Deut 20)

“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” (Luke 19.27)

In the words of one resident of Thailand, “They [Christian missionaries] seemed that they did not show any interest for our culture. Why? They are just eager to build big churches in every village. It seems that they are having two faces; under the title of help they suppress us. To the world, they gained their reputations as benefactors of disappearing tribes. They built their reputations on us for many years. The way they behaved with us seemed as if we did not know about god before they arrived here.”[1]

“Why do missionaries think they are the only ones who can perceive God?”

In fact, most of the civilizations which were overrun by zealous Christians in their conversion fervor, were highly evolved in their moral standards, with complex social structures, high standards of cleanliness and hygiene, decorative art and evolved sciences, and content with their own religion.

The arrival of Christianity actually caused these civilizations to move backwards. In this regard we need only look to Europe, for the Dark Ages of Europe is a time when the Church was in control. The Age of Enlightenment (Renaissance) began when the common people were freed from the tyranny of the Christian church.

Christian missionaries have oppressed many cultures, building churches atop temples, mosques and shrines. For example, the major churches in Rome are built atop pagan temples and many historians say that the Vatican itself is built on the ruins of a Mithra (the Roman Sungod) temple. The major Christian holy days are all taken from the pagan holy days. In fact, it is claimed by many historians and religious scholars that the entirety of Christianity is borrowed from other religions and cultures and is fraudulent — Christ is an amalgamation of a number of personalities existing prior to the [presumed] time of Christ. [ See also: The Borrowing Theory ]

CHRISTIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM

Because Christians believe that Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of others, they use this belief for their own purposes by “letting Christ suffer while they, the Christians, go on committing sin and crime.” That is why the Christians go on slaughtering the Non-Christians, totally worry-free and with a totally clean conscience, because Christ will take care of their sins and crimes, and because they don’t have to face the laws of Karma and Re-incarnation or the veritable consequences of these laws. It does not even occur to an average Christian to ask himself/herself a simple question, that if a person commits a murder and he tells the court that his Father will suffer in his place, will the court accept the substitute to suffer the sentence? An average Christian does not even think that if any court accepted this kind of substitution, then the justice system of the world, as we know it, would be totally destroyed and chaos would ensue.

History is witness to the mass destruction of countless cultures, and the almost complete genocide of entire races at the hands of Christianity. History is now proving that most cultures destroyed by Christianity far outweighed in morals and dignity what they were replaced by.

Since the effects of much missionary work, the cultural traditions of a people being replaced by some form of Christianity, are intentional, this means by definition (according to the United Nations) that genocide is the missionary profession: converting other peoples to Christianity and thus destroying them as an ethnical group, and denying the right of native peoples to exist as what they are, with their own culture, language, and religion. For a variety of reasons a massive depopulation, in other words the death of a large percentage of the native population, follows.[2] And this so-called righteous work continues even today around the world in the name of [Christian] humanitarian work.

The plain and simple truth is that people never give up their religion, any more than they give up their children or their parents…except when they are pressured with use of force or are offered attractive allurements. The Christian Slogan that “Faith in Jesus is the only way to Salvation,” besides being totally false, is also totally ineffective, in gaining converts. Trickery, treachery, bribery, and bayonetry, therefore, has to be used to obtain converts. The Christian Missionaries know this blatant truth and Christianity’s brutal and barbaric record of twenty centuries in winning converts, is a testament to the savage methods of Christianity. [3]

‘ The Christian resolve to find the world evil and ugly, has made the world evil and ugly.’

–    Friedrich Nietzsche

CRUSADES

Many people think that the crusades were holy wars to liberate holy lands from non-Christians. But few are informed that many of the crusades were against other Christian sects, that many of these Crusades were launched for other purposes, such as the drowning of almost 6,000 Protestants by Spanish Catholic troops in the Netherlands in 1568, the sacking of the German city of Magdeburg in the 17th century, slaying 30,000 Protestants, followed by a 30 year war between Catholics and Protestants in which more than 40% of the population (mostly Germans) were decimated.

 

Probably the most revealing event was the capture and pillage of the Orthodox Christian bastion of Constantinople by the members of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, creating an animosity between Catholics and Orthodox Christians which has lasted into the 20th century.

 

In reality, the Crusades were the most ambitious Christian war enterprise and its most conspicuous failure. It was the attempt to force together all the known world and all mankind under the bishop of Rome, the Catholic Pope.

 

The Christian Crusades inspired the most bloodthirsty cruelty, and the greediest vandalism of medieval men. Politically motivated and fanatically aggravated, usurping all land and decimating all peoples who would not surrender to the Vatican. The Crusaders rolled over all who could not withstand their pillage and carnage like bloodthirsty conquerors.

 

By the end of the crusades, most European Christians believed the unfounded blood-libel myths — the rumor that Jews engaged in human sacrifice of Christian children. A long series of Christian persecutions of the Jews continued in Europe and Russia into the 20th century. They laid the foundation for the Nazi Holocaust. [4]

 

WITCH BURNINGS

Of course we have all heard of the Salem Witch Hunts of 1691-1692 and the burning of a number of “witches” alive at the stake by the Puritans. But did you know that the Salem witches were all proven innocent? Of course, this was found out after they were burned. Did you also know that this witch burning, carried out all over the world to the tune of several hundred thousand dead (80% women), was initiated by the Catholic church to rid their dominion of so-called heretics and was directly related to their mandate to re-populate Europe after the Black Death or plagues of the 1300’s, because their serfs were decreased by one third, thereby reducing the Church’s profit by one third, since they owned about 30% of Europe’s lands.[5] The ladies (midwives) were accused of impeding the birth rate — all birth control knowledge was vigorously erased, so much so that 20th century scholars believed birth control was a modern invention. The Inquisitors wrote, “No one is more dangerous and harmful to the Catholic faith than the midwives.”

 

Pope Innocent VIII’s infamous Witch Bull of 1484, launched several centuries of persecution of so-called witches. Several hundred thousand women, children and men (about 20%) were tortured and burned at the stake or hanged. The Malleus Maleficarum (the Witches Hammer or Handbook of the Inquisitors), available online here as a pdf – http://www.burningcross.net/crusades/malleus-maleficarum.pdf], written by two Dominican monks, was perhaps responsible for more widespread bloodshed than any other publication (Christian or otherwise). The policy of torturing, burning and hanging of supposed heretics has been the church’s policy for centuries, whenever they could get away with it. Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries about a half a million people were executed for witchcraft, most of them women.

PERSECUTIONS OF THE JEWS

There is a long history of the persecution of Jews by Christians, starting with the burning of synagogues in the 4th century, to numerous killings of Jews who would not convert to Christianity, to the extermination of Jewish communities in many European countries, all the way to a number of extermination camps during World War II in Yugoslavia, headed by a Franciscan Friar and run by Catholics, which were the equal of the German kilns of Auschwitz — killing about half a million people alone in this small country[5.5].

 

Hitler Himself justified the extermination of the Jews citing the Bible and Jesus:

“My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before in the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice…. And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people…. When I go out in the morning and see these men standing in their queues and look into their pinched faces, then I believe I would be no Christian, but a very devil if I felt no pity for them, if I did not, as did our Lord two thousand years ago, turn against those (the Jews) by whom to-day this poor people is plundered and exploited. “:

(Adolf Hitler, in his speech on 12 April 1922)

 

[Note, “brood of vipers” appears in Matt. 3:7 & 12:34. John 2:15 depicts Jesus driving out the money changers (adders) from the temple. The word “adders” also appears in Psalms 140:3]

 

 

GENOCIDE IN RWANDA

Have you seen the Rwanda movie? Do you know that a substantial number of priests, nuns and even Bishops were indicted and a great many were convicted (by war crimes tribunals) for being directly responsible for the senseless slaughter of thousands of innocent Tutsis? Many clergy turned over those who had taken shelter in their churches to the machetes of the Hutu militia. The hatred and division between the Hutus and Tutsis was propagated by the missionaries as favorable for their objectives of conversion to Christianity.

 

One priest even burned down his own church to kill hundreds of Tutsis who had taken sanctuary there. Two priests were sentenced to death in 1998 for their roles in this genocide and two Benedictine nuns who supplied gasoline for the burning of Tutsi civilians sheltered in their church fled to Belgium where they were later convicted of complicity to murder.

 

“Sister Maria Kisito, who received 12 years, and her Mother Superior, Sister Gertrude, who received 15 years, were convicted of aiding in the slaughter of some 7,000 people who sought refuge at their convent in southern Rwanda. Prosecutors argued that they called in Hutu militiamen to drive people out of the convent knowing they would be killed, and later provided gasoline that militiamen used to set fire to a garage in which about 500 Tutsis had taken refuge.” (Washington Post, June 9, 2001)[6]

 

Of course the Catholic Church has claimed their clergy were acting independently of the church, even though much of the most notable genocide occurred in churches and it is well known that the church’s policy has been for centuries to divide and convert, to sew dissention between ethnic groups and then move in and take advantage of the chaos to offer Christian solace and conversion.

 

In the end nearly one million civilians were butchered.

 

 

TAHITI & THE PACIFIC

We all remember the story of Captain Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty. However, hardly anyone knows that the crew mutinied because they were so attracted to the idyllic life on Tahiti — the crew was determined to return to Tahiti and not go to England. Captain Cook himself wrote of “these happy islands and the good people on them. ” Further, he later wrote, “It would have been far better for these poor people never to have known us.”

 

In 1797, the London Missionary Society put its first missionaries on the shores of Tahiti. Fourteen years later they had not made one convert, even though the happy Tahitians provided them with servants galore, built their houses and fed them. Finally the Christians devised an ingenious plan, which ‘converted’ the entire island in one day. According to a letter written home by brethren J. M. Orsmond, one of their own members, they reduced the local chief, Pomare, to an alcoholic and backed him in a war against other island chiefs, supplying him with firearms, to be used against the other islanders clubs. The understanding was that with his victory all would be forced to convert. Then, a reign of terror followed where non-believers were killed. It was declared illegal by the Christians for anyone to decorate themselves with flowers, to sing (other than hymns), to surf or dance. Within 25 years the native culture of Tahiti and the entire Pacific was extinguished.

 

The attempt to make the Tahitians into service growers of sugar cane failed and the good Christian Mr. Orsmond, deciding that “a bountiful nature diminishes men’s natural desire to work,” had all the breadfruit trees cut down. Such practices, as well as diseases (brought from outside), such as syphilis, tuberculosis and smallpox reduced the original population (estimated by Cook at 200,000) to 6,000 after thirty years of missionary rule.

 

Their power base firmly established in Tahiti, the missionaries moved swiftly to the outer islands, using the same techniques. They introduced a local chieftan to the bottle, crowned him king and induced him to carry out the Christian’s work of conquering and converting at sword point.

 

The Polynesians and Melanesian people were also very cultured and intertwined with the processes of creation. They decorated everything with intricate wood carvings and flowers and produced many beautiful things. Yet by 1850 all this was gone, the only remaining vestige of these great cultures were the grass skirts and swaying hips for the tourists. Prior to the Christianization of Polynesia and Hawaii the local dances were mostly performed by men of the priesthood, the Christians turned such dances as the Hula into a sex show for the tourists. The Christian conquest of the Pacific was complete.

 

 

HAWAII

Not only did the missionaries and the Europeans bring the Bible to Hawaii they also brought diseases to the native population. The British explorer Captain James Cook’s visit to Hawaii in 1778 is generally credited with the ‘discovery’ of Hawaii but history reveals that others had been there before. Many missionaries followed.

 

The Hawaiians, like the American Indians, had no idea what private property meant. The missionaries decided the land belonged to them and not the native Hawaiian population. With the help of the American diplomatic representative at Honolulu, the Hawaiian capitol, and the aid of the United States warship Boston, a coup d’etat was implemented. The Boston landed Marines and sailors. The American missionary party formed a provisional Government and endeavored to make a treaty with the United States looking for annexation. Later, when President McKinley came to office the request of the rump Government for annexation was undertaken.

 

The original missionaries to Hawaii ended up large landowners. Although the missionaries were a small handful of the population they ended up with vast land holdings to the exclusion of the native Hawaiians, who had lived there for thousands of years. Put simply, the missionaries stole their land.

 

The missionaries did everything possible to destroy the ethnic Hawaiian culture, from banning all Hawaiian religious practices, walking barefoot, and even banning a faultless sport like surfing. Christians [according to the Hawaiians] are said to have introduced the mosquito into Hawaii in the hopes that this would force the natives to wear more clothes. Only in modern times has pride in Hawaiian art, song, dance and religion been revived.

 

“When the Christians came to these islands they said, take this Bible, close your eyes and pray, so we did; when we opened our eyes all we had was this Bible and the white man had all our Islands.” Hawaiian Kahuna

 

 

COLUMBUS & THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

Christopher Columbus, a trader of African slaves, is best known as the ‘so-called’ discoverer of America. In his personal log, Columbus wrote that, his purpose in seeking undiscovered worlds was “to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the heathens.” [Columbus’ Book of Prophecies]

 

On his first voyage Columbus described the natives as follows:

 

“The people of this island and of all other islands which I have found and seen, … all … are so artless and free with all they possess, that no one would believe it without having seen it. Of anything they have, if you ask them for it, they never say no; rather they invite the person to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts…” But Colombus’ mission was to take the land for Christendom and convert all these peoples to Christianity or exterminate them and replace their culture, hence:

 

In whichever island he touched (on his second voyage) his men killed indiscriminately whatever animals and natives they found, “looting and destroying all they found,” as Columbus’ son Fernando put it. The natives were either killed or enslaved. Columbus commented in this regard, that the natives “ought to be good servants… and would easily be made Christians,” because he saw his affairs as the “fulfillment of prophecies in Isaiah.” To any objections from the natives, Columbus responded with, “…with the help of God, we shall … make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of Their Highness. We shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them.” [7]

 

Eyewitnesses recalled, “Once the Indians were in the woods, the next step was to form squadrons and pursue them, and whenever the Spaniards found them, they pitilessly slaughtered everyone like sheep… So they would cut an Indian’s hands and leave them dangling… Some Christians encounter an Indian women, and since the dog they had with them was hungry, they tore the child from the mother’s arms and flung it still living to the dog…” After all, the Indians were only infidels.”

 

Of Columbus’ second voyage, it has been further written: “The Spaniards found pleasure in inventing all kinds of odd cruelties… They built a long gibbet, long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent strangling, and hanged thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Savior and the twelve apostles… then, straw was wrapped around their torn bodies and they were burned alive.” [8]

 

In less than a decade after Columbus’ first landing the native population of the island of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo & Haiti)— and thousands and thousands of people — had dropped by a third to a half. Before the next century ended, the populations of Cuba and many other Caribbean islands had been virtually exterminated.

 

 

 

NORTH AMERICA

 

VIRGINIA The Charter for the Virginia Colony stated that its purpose was to bring the Christian religion to those in ignorance of true knowledge of God.

 

Historian Edmund S. Morgan compiled the following description from Christian accounts of events occurring in one of the earliest settlements of English Christians, in Roanoke, Virginia in 1580:

 

“Wingina [the local chief] welcomed the visitors, and the Indians gave freely of their supplies to the English, who had lost most of their own when the Tyger [their ship] grounded.” [9]

 

“Indian openness and generosity were met with European stealth and greed. Ritualized Indian warfare, in which few people died in battle, was met with the European belief in devastating holy war. Vast stores of grain and other food supplies that Indian peoples had lain aside became the fuel that [later] drove the Europeans forward.” [10]

 

“Indians who came to the English settlements with food for the British (who seemed never able to feed themselves) were captured, accused of being spies, and executed. Peace treaties were signed with every intention to violate them: when the Indians ‘grow secure uppon the treatie,’ advised the Counsel of State in Virginia, ‘we shall have the better advantage both to surprise them & cutt downe theire Corne.’ ” [11]

 

Arthur Barlowe, one of the first Christians ever to set foot on Virginia soil, described the natives he encountered in 1584 as follows:

 

“…we were entertained with all love and kindness and with as much bounty, …as they could possibly devise. We found the people most gentle loving, and faithfull, void of all guile and treason … a more kind and loving people there cannot be found in the world, as farre as we have hitherto had triall.” [12]

 

Their supposedly Christian treatment of these friendly native Americas was that:

“…we burnt, and spoyled their corne, and Towne, all the people beeing fledde.” [13]

 

 

MIDWEST

Greed drove over a hundred thousand intruders into the area by 1825, few of whom were ever expelled. Though protection from intruders was a guarantee to the Cherokee by treaty, which the State of Georgia and the federal government were supposed to uphold it was never given the slightest honor by white interests. Forts were established to police against intruders but what they did was to harass the Cherokee and provide safety and protection for whites from those who tried to protect their families.

 

The State of Georgia insured no Cherokee would ever receive justice by forbidding the testimony or presence of any Native American in a court of law, period, just like the Nuremberg Laws of 1936 against Jews in Germany. This gave all whites free rein to terrorize, steal and kill any Native person they wanted to. No Cherokee “removed” because they wanted to, it was because the protection they were assured by treaty obligation was never provided.

 

The missionaries who entered Indian country were sent there to “civilize” the native people. They acquired this position by negotiation through treaty and were given vast amounts of land and guaranteed subsidies administered by the federal government out of tribal money. This money never touched the hands of the Cherokee and most often none was left after missionary, Indian agents, superintendents and corrupt tribal government leaders got done with it.

 

In 1832 Congress appropriated $12,000 dollars to begin the fight against smallpox in Indian country, 20 years after they did the same for whites. Significantly, actual vaccination expenditures that first year “for smallpox and certain other things” amounted to only $1,786, as opposed to $5,721 for “missionary improvement” and $9,424 for the “civilization of the Indians.” One year later, in 1833, actual expenditures were down to $721. [14]

 

This is why most Native Americans today who are knowledgeable of their history are pointing out that the United States Government waged genocide against their people. When medicine to heal children and families from a deadly and mortal disease is withheld, that agency which does this crime against humanity is committing genocide.

 

“Civilizing” meant taking children away from their parents at the ages of 5-12 years and forcing them to live without father, mother, sister or brother in missionary schools, if you can imagine that being done to a little child. This practice was not exclusive to the early years of American history but continued up until the mid 1970’s in this country. Children were beaten and given forced labor during their stay in school. Participation was “optional” but missionaries controlled the annuities of food and trust money through their relationship with superintendents and the military. Families that did not surrender their children did not receive food or payments that were supposed to be guaranteed to them.

 

Very young children caught in this situation were brainwashed to treat their parents as savages and barbarians and they suffered terribly under this psychological torture. By this method through several generations, Cherokees, like most Native Americans were stripped of the knowledge of their heritage, religious beliefs and trust of their family supports.

 

This is why it is called a Red Holocaust and fits the United Nations accords for genocide. Any people whose children are taken from them in order to destroy the religious, spiritual, racial and cultural heritage of that people are victims of genocide.

 

The pressure to build a slave based empire on Native Cherokee soil was highly successful. Thomas Jefferson who wrote the removal policy and openly supported genocide of Native Americans declared, “If ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or is driven beyond the Mississippi… they will kill some of us; we shall destroy all of them.” [15]

 

Missionary work was very big business. It afforded the building of careers, growth of denominational influence in regions that formed economic bases of support. Churches were established through lucrative payments from Indian funds and lands, which were deeded for use as farms, timber production and for sale in financing further ventures, not the least of which was buying selling and working their slaves. Churches and missionaries were aggressively competing for government contracts among the Native American people all the way up until the 1970’s when Native American Education legislation made it too difficult for the government to sever lands for missionary work without compensation.

 

To give some insight into the abuse of law that the State of Georgia in the early 19th century used to terrorize the Cherokee, the banishment of “intruders” was only enforced against whites, who stood up for the Cherokee by representing their interests. It was also used by whites through the… spoils system to get rid of squatters whose land was coveted by another white. Those whites who took public stands for Native people in the area were thrown out. Worcester was one such missionary. He returned and was thrown into prison for a year for his stand on Cherokee rights.

 

It is especially telling that while almost no Indians voluntarily lived among the colonists, the number of whites who ran off to live with the natives was a problem often remarked upon. Historian James Axtell has concluded that the whites who chose to remain among the natives

 

“…stayed because they found Indian life to possess a strong sense of community, abundant love, and uncommon integrity – values that the European colonists also honored… But Indian life was attractive for other values – for social equality, mobility, adventure, and as two adult converts acknowledged, ‘the most perfect freedom, the ease of living, [and] the absence of those cares and corroding solicitudes which so often prevail with us.’ ” [16]

 

After a century and a half of permanent British settlement in North America, even Benjamin Franklin joined numerous earlier commentators lamenting that

 

“…when an Indian child has been brought up among us, taught our language and habituated to our Customs, yet if he goes to see his relations and make one Indian Ramble with them, there is no perswading them ever to return.

 

[But] when white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived a while among them, tho’ ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet in a short time they become disgusted with our manner of life, and the care and pains that are necessary to support it, and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them.” [17]

 

Since they were uttered by one of America’s founding fathers, however, the most widely admired of the South’s slaveholding philosophers of freedom, they conveniently have become lost to most historians in their insistent celebration of Jefferson’s wisdom and humanity.” Further references available. [18]

 

 

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS

The book, The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide, edited by Rupert Costo and Jeannette Henry Costo [19] (Indian rights activists), spells out the apparent brutality of the California Franciscan missionaries (and their founder Junipero Serra, who was to be made a saint) against the North American Indians; citing numerous contemporary accounts of the brutality and degrading conditions endemic to the mission system in California.

 

Interviews from 1985 with eight scholars (arranged by the Catholic Diocese of Monterey in defense of Serra) actually contain the strongest evidence against the mission system itself. The ethnocentrism of the interviewees and their at times embarrassing lack of knowledge regarding Indian ways, leads to numerous questionable assertions. Serra’s supporters generally acknowledge that the methods employed to convert the Indians would be unthinkable for missionaries to use today.

 

The work of A. L. Kroeber, Sherburne Cook, Robert Heizer (all cited in the text) and others establishes that the arrival of the Europeans was a cultural and demographic catastrophe for the California Indians. Too often it is forgotten that Serra aimed not just to convert the Indians to Catholicism but to eradicate Indian culture as well. It is in this sense that the book’s subtitle. “A Legacy of Genocide” is justified.

 

Many of Serra’s fiercest critics are individuals actively engaged in efforts to heal Indian society by recovering and honoring the traditional ways that bound tribes together for centuries. The attempt to sanctify a man who dedicated his life to the destruction of those ways is, understandably, galling to them.

 

Some accounts shed further light on the missions activities:

[T]he Puritan minister John Robinson had complained to Plymouth’s William Bradford that although a group of massacred Indians no doubt “deserved” to be killed, “Oh, how happy a thing had it been, if you had converted some before you killed any!” [20]

 

And kill them they did… At the mission of Nuestra Sentora de Loreto, reported the Franciscan chronicler Father Francisco Palone, during the first three years of Franciscan rule 76 children and adults were baptized, while 131 were buried… The same held true at others, from the mission of Santa Rosalin¡ de Mulegne, with 48 baptisms and 113 deaths, to the mission of San Ignacio, with 115 baptisms and 293 deaths – all within the same initial three year period.

 

 

MEXICO CITY

Unlike European cities of the late 1400’s, which were filled with squalor and disease (most Europeans never took a bath in their entire life, hence the invention of French perfume) [D.E. Stannard, American Holocaust. Columbus and the conquest of the New World, New York/Oxford 1992, pg. 59], Mexico was clean. The twin cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlateloico, know today as Mexico City, maintained high standards: wastes were hauled away by barge and composted for fertilizer, a thousand men swept and washed the streets every day. Refined Aztecs, who bathed daily, found it advisable to hold flowers to their noses when they met Europeans, who made it a point of being filthy. Most of Mexico’s streets were canals and an aquaduct brought drinking water from mountain springs. [21]

 

Hernan Cortez felt that this was by far the most beautiful city on earth, stated: “All of these houses have very large and very good rooms and very pleasing gardens of various sorts of flowers…” [22] The Christian visitors were astonished by the personal cleanliness and hygiene of the colorfully dressed populace, and by their extravagant (to the Christians) use of soaps, deodorants, and breath sweeteners. [23]

 

The Mexicans [Aztecs] were tolerant of other peoples, such as the Otomi, who lived among them. These had their own religion, culture, language… tribal hatreds did not seem to exist within the Mexican body politic.” [24]

 

As a consequence of Columbus’ ‘discovery,’ less than a century after his voyage the city had been sacked by Christians, its buildings and beautiful gardens burnt and devastated. The city’s inhabitants, who before Columbus had known only temporary slavery as a means of judicial correction, were either dead or permanent slaves to a Church-approved colonial feudal government, or directly to a Church which burned at the stake any survivors unwilling to be converted to a religion which even faithful Christians of today could only describe as a hopeless medley of absurd or revolting superstitions – one has only to think of the reliquaries, collections of skulls, bones, teeth, or other remains of so-called saints, enshrined and openly displayed to be worshiped – in any given Christian Church of the time.

 

 

THE PHILIPPINES

Shortly after the Spanish American war of 1898, the US obtained legal right to the Philippines via the Treaty of Paris. President McKinley stated that “military occupation of the islands is declared to be to protect the people.” For the president, American duty compelled the US to “uplift and civilize and Christianize them [the Philippines], and by God’s grace do the very best we could for them.” The Filipinos had not requested this, but their will was ignored as was their revolutionary government, and new constitution. The Filipino resistance to this American ‘help,’ was met with military might. The US command stated that, “it may be necessary to slaughter one-half of the rebellious Filipinos in order to bring the other half into subjection.”

 

Well over 200,000 Filipinos lost their lives in their struggle against American imperialism. The Methodist church, great champions of this war of ‘divine mission,’ did not distinguish imperialism from the mission of evangelization. James Henry Potts, editor of the Michigan Christian Advocate, was so confident of the righteousness of the cause that the human cost simply did not matter and we must “conquer the rebellious Filipinos and give them the blessings of the best administration possible… Those islands are ours.” Propagandists portrayed the Filipino resistance leaders as not representing the general will of the Filipinos, but were dismayed that they continued to resist. After all, Americans “knew what was best for the Filipinos,” they needed American guidance, but showed “no appreciation of the fact that America had lifted the galling Spanish yoke from their necks…” [replacing it, unfortunately, with their own yoke.]

 

The previous arbitrary cruel treatment of the Filipinos by the Spaniards was repeated by the American oppressors in their new view, as necessary measures to subdue the Filipino rebels. Thus the blame for their violent actions was transferred from the perpetrator of the action to the victim. This became clear when the public learned that U.S. soldiers perpetrated grave acts against mankind, including the brutal torture and execution of prisoners, the burning and looting of Filipino towns and the forced relocation of civilians.

 

Six hundred saloons had sprung up in Manila, which became over one thousand by 1900, (where formerly there were less than ten) and the armies’ abuses were blamed on alcohol. The Detroit Annual Conference of Methodists focused on temperance and overlooked the heinous activities committed by the army.

 

The cries of “God wills it,” were the religious justification for the assertion of political power fused with missionary zeal. Reverend William Oldham declared that “the roar of the (American) cannon was the voice of Almighty God declaring (the Philippines) shall be freed.” It was the mission of the Americans to spread the faith, and like the holy crusaders before, military conquest was the first step in this “holiest of wars.”

 

The eyes of the church were resolutely focused on American Protestant victory against Filipino independence and Catholicism. How far astray these Methodist missionaries had gone, is clearly illustrated by the statement of Editor Potts who proclaimed that the “worst war in the Philippines is yet to come,” since the Protestant missionaries encountered deeply entrenched Catholic beliefs and institutions which were viewed as opposing American principles and systems. Patriotism and Christianity had become indistinguishable and the Filipinos defense was perceived by these Christian invaders as unjustifiable resistance operating under the spell of ‘Satan’s Arts.’

 

 

 

BURMA and THAILAND

Accounts from local residents claim that:

The American Baptist Paul Lewis sterilized more than 20,000 Akha Hill Tribe women in Burma’s Eastern Shan State alone. This was done secretly, and blood was stolen from these women for resale, taken during the sterilization procedure. More than 3,000 of the women died. [25]

 

In Akha traditional culture, five people serve as the government in one village. This multiperson leadership system in villages was eliminated and replaced by single pastors who rule the villages with an iron fist, allowing no dissent or return to the traditional ways. These changes have sewn havoc amongst the locals.

 

“There would be no traditional practices, songs, or dances at all now, possibly something would be allowed at Christmas. The woman who practices the traditional knowledge and medicine for the village was stopped. She was told that it was evil and that she could no longer treat people’s illnesses. In the name of their religious beliefs, and quite in contradiction with the spirit of those beliefs, the missionaries are eradicating Akha culture in village after village. [26]

 

A Thai speaks out on mission activities in Thailand:

“Especially in Thailand, due to the high levels of prostitution, under the name of safeguarding young women, boarding schools for girls sprout up. But then the girls no longer want to marry Akha [non-Christian] men.” [27]

 

“Regarding religion, at the beginning it seemed to be very good. Later, it turned out to be a division among the people. Some became Catholics, some Protestants, some still holding their ancestors offering while others became Buddists. All these, they could not face to one another. The missionaries often cause dissention in the villages without permission of the village leaders.”

 

“Now we want to raise a question, how good is Christianity then? If that is good enough, why there are so many groups, teaching about Jesus and yet fighting one another? First they divided our people now they are dividing our villages and families. We seem to be like a prey for them. Better not to have one of them than having all of them.”

 

 

VIETNAM

Perhaps, you remember seeing the news videos of Buddhists burning themselves with gasoline in the 1960’s? Do you know why they burned themselves? They were protesting the discriminatory treatment and torture by the fanatical Catholic South Vietnamese government of Ngo Dinh Diem, installed by the U.S. military. With the Vaticans influence, led by Cardinal Spellman, democratic elections were stopped in Vietnam, and Dim installed. This was followed by the ill-fated Vietnam war.

 

Do you think that the government of the U.S.A. stands for democracy in every country? Actually they are only for democracies that elect a government favorable to or are cooperative with U.S. foreign policies. If they are not agreeable with and subordinate to U.S. interests, then covert U.S. forces make arrangements for other leaders, like Mussaraf in Pakistan, like so many leaders in South or Central America or Diem in Vietnam, to take power.

 

 

CHINA

Although most everyone has heard of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900, few know that this rebellion was directly a reaction of the Chinese people to the Christian missionaries who swarmed into the country in order to convert the poor, illiterate, and defenseless Chinese. The rebellion was of course suppressed by the countries that were patronizing the converting missionaries.

 

In October of 2000, over twenty Chinese scholars, experts on history and religion, held a symposium, exposing the crimes committed by the then recently “canonized” foreign missionaries and their followers. Scholars listed a number of facts to illustrate that in modern history the activities of Catholic missionaries were closely linked with the invasion of China by foreign forces.

 

Prof. Dai Yi said, “Lots of foreign missionaries followed the warships of foreign aggressors to China in and after the Opium War, and actually foreign aggression and missionaries’ activities are combined into one. That is, missionaries’ activities were an integral part of invasion, missionaries acted as guides and tools for foreign aggressors and in return, aggressors paved the way for the missionaries’ activities.” It is the foreign missionaries that should answer for the consequences to their actions because their monstrous evils exasperated the Chinese people and eventually fused the outburst of the Yi He Tuan (known as Boxers) Movement.

 

Participants in the symposium pointed out that foreign missionaries executed in certain “religious cases,” such as Auguste Chapdelaine, Franciscus de Capillas and Albericus Crescitelli, had only themselves to blame for still being hated by people today, because they had stopped no evil.

 

The Holy See, disregarding the strong opposition from the Chinese people, “canonized” these infamous missionaries, which reveals the Vatican’s “vicious intention to intervene in China’s internal affairs through religious activities,” the scholars said, pointing out that the “canonization” tramples on the sovereignty of the Chinese Catholic Church, as well as a severe provocation to the 1.2 billion Chinese people.

 

The scholars all voiced their protest over the perverse and vicious deeds of the Vatican, saying that the present China is strong enough to protect its national security and national dignity and any attempt to distort history and humiliate the Chinese people is doomed to failure.

 

The Chinese government’s obvious reaction to such Christian preaching activities over many centuries has been to ban all conversion efforts in China.

 

 

INDIA

 

India’s first major contact with Christianity began when Vasco da Gama, from Portugal, landed with gunboat and priests in 1498… The newcomers were not only merchants but also devout Christians ordered by the Pope: “… to invade, conquer, and subject all the countries which are under rule of the enemies of Christ, Saracens (Moslems who fought against the Christian Crusaders in the middle ages) or Pagan….”

 

Hindus were forced to convert or faced torture and death. Thousands had to flee Goa in order to keep their culture and religious beliefs.

 

The historian Gaspar Correa described what Vasco da Gama did, thus:

 

“When all the Indians had thus been executed, he ordered them to strike upon their teeth with staves and they knocked them down their throats; as they were put on board, heaped on top of each other, mixed up with the blood which streamed from them; and he ordered mats and dry leaves to be spread over them and sails to be set for the shore and the vessels set on fire… ” Before killing and burning the innocent Hindus he had their hands, ears and noses cut off.

 

…”When the Zamorin (head of the Hindu population) sent another Brahmin (Hindu Priest) to Vasco to plead for peace, he had his lips cut off and his ears cut off. The ears of a dog were sewn on him instead and the Brahmin was sent back to Zamorin in that state. The Brahmin… had brought with him three young boys, two of them his sons and the other a nephew. They were hanged from the yardarm and their bodies sent ashore.”

 

Francis Xavier, a Jesuit Priest, came soon after Vasco da Gama, with the firm resolve of uprooting Hinduism from the soil of India and planting Christianity in its place. His sayings and doings have been documented in his numerous biographies. Francis Xavier, wrote back home,

 

“As soon as I arrived in any heathen village, when all are baptized, I order all the temples of their false gods to be destroyed and all the idols to be broken to pieces. I can give you no idea of the joy I feel in seeing this done.” The Church had a special way of dealing with converted Hindus who were suspected of not observing Christian rites with appropriate rigour and enthusiasm, or even of covertly practicing their old faith: “…the culprits would be tracked down and burnt alive.”[28]

 

 

Xavier called for an inquisition, recorded by historians as being more horrendous and barbaric than any prior to that. Thousands were tortured mutilated and killed. Thousands had to flee Goa in order to keep their traditional culture and religion.

 

It is recorded that between 600 and 1,000 Hindu temples and shrines were destroyed, but many consider these numbers to be on the conservative side. [29]

 

Many types of brutal torture were employed by the Inquisitors, such as mutilation of body parts, fire torture and drownings. The details of this torture are too ghastly and horrid to contemplate for any sane human being.

 

”Children were flogged and slowly dismembered in front of their parents whose eyelids had been sliced off to make sure they missed nothing. Extremities were amputated carefully, so that a person could remain conscious even when all that remained was a torso and a head.”[30]

 

The archbishop of Evora, in Portugal, eventually wrote, “If everywhere the Inquisition was an infamous court, the infamy, however base, however vile, however corrupt and determined by worldly interests, it was never more so than in Goa. [31]

 

No body knows the exact number of Goans subjected to these diabolical tortures; low estimates put the number in the tens of thousands, high estimates are in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more. The abominations of these inquisitions continued from 1560 until a brief respite was given in 1774, but four years later, the inquisition was introduced again and it continued un-interruptedly until 1812 — the inquisition in Goa wend on for over two-hundred and fifty years. At that point in time, in the year of 1812, the British put pressure on the Portuguese to put an end to the terror of the Inquisition and the presence of British troops in Goa enforced the British desire.[32]

 

Dr. Trasta Breganka Kunha, a Catholic citizen of Goa writes, “Inspite of all the mutilations and concealment of history, it remains an undoubted fact that religious conversion of Goans is due to methods of force adopted by the Portuguese to establish their rule. As a result of this violence the character of our people was destroyed. The propagation of Christian sect in Goa came about not by religious preaching but through the methods of violence and pressure. If any evidence is needed for this fact, we can obtain it through law books, orders and reports of the local rulers of that time and also from the most dependable documents of the Christian sect itself.”[33]

 

A proposed celebration for the 500 year anniversary of Vasco de Gama’s arrival in India was fiercly proposed and successfully stopped, bringing together a surprising alliance of Hindus, Muslims, left wing campaigners and environmentalists.

 

The Gaur-Sarasvata Brahmins were one such sect who had to flee at the hands of the invading fanatics. Now their sect is situated in the state of Karnataka. Leaving everything behind and starting from scratch they are now a very well to do and prosperous community. Their temples rival any in the world. Still practicing their ancient Vedic religion, the Gaur-Sarasvata Brahmins are recognized for their dignity, honesty and contributions to society. This soundly nullifies the idea propagated by the Christian zealots that Hindu religion is heathen and pagan.

 

Frances Xavier is commonly known as ‘St. Francis Xavier,’ ‘the Patron Saint of the East.’ He is still worshipped, prayed to and honored as the pure representative of Jesus Christ and his gospel by Christians all over the world. There are innumerable hospitals, schools, and other institutions in India named after him. Even today the archdiocese of Goa boasts,

 

“The glorious chapter of the expansion of the Catholic Church in the east can be said to have begun after the European ‘discovery’ of the sea route to India in 1498. This helped the coming of the European fathers to these lands, one of them being St. Francis Xavier, the great Apostle of the East and Patron of the Missions. Goa is privileged to have been the starting point of his Church work labours and the place where his sacred remains are preserved. Goa was called the “Rome of the East” due to the central role it played in evangelization of the east.” [34]

 

India today is ruled by a secular government modeled after the western democracies. What many Indians do not understand is that the idea of secular government, first seen in the United States of America, was a reaction to the theocratic tyrannies that pervaded the Dark Ages of Europe all the way to the founding of the American nation. Separation of religion and government were an effort to ward off and prevent any Christian theocracy from taking control in modern times.

 

Now the Christian tactics have changed, but their underlying premise that ‘Christianity is the only true religion’ nullifies all their attempts of portraying themselves as tolerant and loving. The reality is that Christianity has not changed its theology, it has only changed its techniques of conversion. Christian evangelists are now using vast amounts of wealth (billions of US dollars) to spread their propaganda. Mission activity in India comes in the guise of helping the downtrodden, sick and helpless. In reality the aim is the same — to convert all to Christianity and in the wake destroy all the cultures and religions that lie in the way. There is no need to abuse, attack, or condemn the Non-Christian religions. The plain truth is the Christian Missionaries work with usage of lies, falsehood, and hypocrisy. The social improvement facade is only a camouflage or disguise for conversion work.

 

Why should the Christian Missionaries want to collect converts? Because it is in the nature of the religions of exclusivity (Islam and Christianity) to try to make every one like them in terms of religion. They have no use, whatsoever, for pluralism or respect for other religions; in fact what they have is pure contempt for other religions. Further, this exclusivity attachment and attitude comes straight from the horse’s mouth i.e. from their scriptures. For instance, in the Bible Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, and Luke 24:46-47 every Christian is commanded to make converts and it is the duty of every Christian to uphold these commands of the Bible.

 

A glance at their activities in India clearly reveals that the Christian Missionaries denigrate and demonize the Hindus every single day. Hinduism is equated with Devil Worship and Hindus are described as Heathens, as workers for the Devil, and as lost souls who are headed straight to hell.

 

Now-a-days, in most civilized countries, open and outright utterance of ignoble and unflattering slurs and put downs on the basis of race, religion, creed, or other affiliation is not tolerated because it has been legislated as illegal. But in Pseudo-Secular India, Hindus can be freely insulted, abused, degraded and dragged into mud, by the Christian Missionaries with impunity, without any fear of lawsuit. They freely broadcast their Hate-Hindu, vile and vituperative propaganda into Indian villages and cities.

 

Because the preacher of Christianity single-mindedly believes his loathing gospels of hate, seeing them as divine commands from his religion, he utters venom and vindictiveness against the Hindu with zeal and with [in their estimation] a clear conscience.

 

Nearly every single day, rhetoric similar to the words below confirm the reality that Christianity, while posing as a religion of love, peace and tolerance is anything but that.

 

“These Hindu Heathens have their idols and their superstitions, their idol-bearing temples and shrines where they conduct their noisy foolish rituals and ceremonies. They generate a lot of evil. They are totally ignorant that Jesus Christ came to overcome death. There is a great need to propagate the Christian Gospel amongst them.”

Only now is India beginning to realize what the Christian Mission activity is really all about. This is evidenced in states like Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and in other areas in Northeast India. As soon as Christians become a majority in a given area, they sow the venom of hatred and strife, turning family member against family member, villager against villager and instigate their Christian followers to ask for self-determination and a Christian Homeland. This is virtually the same technique that the Moslems continue to use with success.

As soon as a convert is made, they are greatly encouraged to vehemently and publicly denigrate their previous culture, traditions and everything related to it. This greatly disrupts the entire community and its normal social and economic activities.

Militant Christians in several of these Northeastern Indian provinces have been forcing non-Christian residents to either convert to Christianity or face capital punishment. With death staring at their face, most of the adult members have fled the villages to escape torture, resulting in disruption of agricultural activities. Buddhist leaders of both the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have strongly condemned the heinous carnage committed by the militants on the peace-loving Buddhists and tribal cult followers.

Because Hindus now know what the Christians are up to, it is time to take some serious steps to counter the Christian propaganda and instill pride in Indians across the nation for their glorious past and distinguished Vedic heritage.

 

For Additional Information on the Goan Inquisition, please visit: The Portuguese Invasion of Goa Details of the Goan Inquisition Hindu Genocide in Goa

CONCLUSION

Christians have always portrayed non-Christian civilizations as backwards, underdeveloped, superstitious, and barbaric. What really underlies all of their criticism is that these cultures do not accept Jesus, the Bible and their western way of life. This is what, in the Christians’ opinion, deems these cultures as needing their help, when in fact the their fervor to destroy any theistic conception other than Christianity or any temple other than a church shows that they are really the ones who are showing the qualities of barbarians.

Today, many are uninformed and believe that mission excesses only took place in prior times and today’s preaching works are a ‘good thing.’ But as long as the basic premises and theology that underly all the abuses that took place in the past are not corrected, the result of mission activities will remain the same: Genocide and destruction of all that lies in its way, replacing it with the ‘superior religion and culture’ that most missionaries believe they are delivering.

In retrospect, these various ethnic cultures were far better off before the introduction of Christianity, as it had nothing better to offer them. In reality, these cultures were decimated, their histories were erased, their cultural traditions eradicated, their former religions destroyed and they were left more unhappy than before the arrival of Christianity.

There have been many revisions in the teachings of Jesus Christ since it first took hold some 2,000 years ago. But until the xenophobic and iconoclastic teachings of the Bible are corrected, mission activity will yield the same catastrophic results. As taught in the Bible, ‘we can know a tree by its fruit,’ these evangelists need to adopt a more pluralistic theology, recognizing the divinity in other religions and the contributions of other cultures and further recognize that theirs is not the only path to salvation. Suffice it to say, until these things have been corrected, that to label such endeavors for Christ as good works or pious activity is wrong.

 

Otherwise, in this modern age, those deemed with good intelligence, who are advanced in philosophy and science, have no other choice than to condemn these preaching activities worldwide, which seek to destroy ethnic cultures. Mission activities need to be monitored and the conversion agenda needs to be reconsidered.

 

Footnotes

——————————————————————————–

[1] Akha Chronicles, Book 1: Maesai, Chapter 20: Missions. Available online: http://www.akha.org/upload/akhachronicles/chapter20missionaries.htm

[2] Genocide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) article 2 as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such: “Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

[3] S. P. Attri, Conversion Aggression, http://conversionagenda.blogspot.com/2004/01/conversion-aggression.html

[4] Chris tian apology for the Crusades: The Reconciliation Walk. http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_cru1.htm

[5] C.M. Cipolla, Before the Industrial Revolution, London 1981, pg. 55ff.

[5.5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustasha , http://www.priestsofdarkness.com/gold.html , http://www.holocaustrevealed.org/_domain/holocaustrevealed.org/Yugoslavia/Yugoslavia-Croatia.htm .

[6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42755-2001Jun8?language=printer

[7] Excerpt of the Requerimiento.

[8] D.E.Stannard, American Holocaust. Columbus and the conquest of the New World, New York/Oxford 1992, pg. 72.

[9] E.S. Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom, New York 1975, pg. 39.

[10] D.E. Stannard, American Holocaust, Columbus and the conquest of the New World, New York/Oxford 1992. Pg. 106

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid, Pg. 227.

[13] Ibid.

[14] ed. Stuewe, Paul K., KANSAS REVISITED: HISTORICAL IMAGES AND PERSPECTIVES, article by Unrau, William, The Depopulation of the Kansas Indians”)

[15] Footnote source to Jefferson: The source of the statement is indeed Thomas Jefferson dating from 1807 when addressing his Secretary of War regarding any Indians who resisted American expansion into their lands.

David Stannard in American Holocaust, The Conquest of the New World, Oxford Press 1992, page 120 expands further, “These were not offhand remarks, for five years later, in 1812, Jefferson again concluded that white Americans were obliged to drive the ‘backward’ Indians ‘with the beasts of the forests into the Stony Mountains’ and one year later still, he added that the American government had no other choice before it than ‘to pursue (the Indians) to extermination, or drive them to new seats beyond our reach.’ Indeed, Jefferson’s writings on Indians are filled with the straightforward assertion that the natives are to be given a simple choice — to be extirpate(d) from the earth’ or to remove themselves out of the American’s way.’ Had these same words been enunciate by a German leader in 1939 and directed at European Jews, they would be engraved in modern memory.

[16] J. Axtell, The Invasion Within, New York 1985, pg. 327.

[17] Ibid, pg. 303.

[18] Drinnon, Facing West, pp. 96, 98, 116; Ronald T. Takaki, Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th Century America (New York: Alfred A. Knof, 1979), pp.61-65.

[19] The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide, edited by Rupert Costo and Jeannette Henry Costo, San Francisco: Indian Historian Press, 1987.

[20] Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, pg. 374f.

[21] R. Wright, Stolen Continents. The Indian Story, London 1992, pp. 20-21.

[22] D.E. Stannard, American Holocaust. Columbus and the conquest of the New World, New York/Oxford 1992, pg. 5.

[23] B.R. Ortiz de Montellano, Aztec Medicine, Health, and Nutrition, New Brunswick 1990, pg. 127f.

[24] H. Thomas, Conquest. Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico, New York 1993, pg. 19.

[25] Akha Chronicles, Book 1: Maesai, Chapter 20: Missions. Available online: http://www.akha.org/upload/akhachronicles/chapter20missionaries.htm

[26] Ibid.

[27] The Akha Heritage Foundation, http://www.eco-action.org/mission/akha1.html, http://www.akha.org/

[28] Paul William Roberts, Empire of the Soul, Some Journeys in India (Riverhead Books, New York)

[29] History of Hindu Chris tian Encounters, Sita Ram Goel, South Asia Books (July 1990), ISBN 9990049173.

[30] Ibid.

[31] The Empire of the Soul by Paul William Roberts (Harper Collins, 1999)

[32] Ibid.

[33] The Portuguese Invasion, http://www.indpride.com/portuguese%20invasion.html

[34] The Archdiocese Of Goa and Daman, http://www.archgoadaman.org/Dioceses/index.htm

<http://www.archgoadaman.org/Dioceses/index.htm>Source: Mirror site http://arizonaatheist.blogspot.com/2007/12/partial-history-of-christian-missionary.html

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Identity of a Nation

Mohan Gupta to S.Poshakwala9
show details 9:38 PM (12 hours ago)

 

Identity of a Nation

 

In one of his interview Dr. Subramanian Swamy said that in near future, Pakistan may break up. Then the interviewer asked him on what basis he thought Pakistan may break up. Dr. Subramanian Swamy reply was that since independence Pakistan has not given any identity to itself.

 

Bhaarat is an ancient nation and has identity as a Hindu Nation. But the congress party has neither acknowledged the Hindu identity of Bhaarat nor has spread this identity of Bhaarat in the world. Congress does not promote Hindu culture, Hindu traditions, Hindu festivals and Bhaaratiya languages like Sanskrit and Hindi.

Congress party and congress government do not propagate the development of a Hindu mindset.

            DNA has proved that the blood of all Bhaaratiyas may be Muslims, Christians and may belong to any other non- Hindu religion, but the blood of all Bhaaratiyas is same and the forefathers of all of them were all Hindus.

 

In his article How to wipe out Islamic terror, Dr. Subramanian Swamy has reminded all non Hindus that their forefathers were Hindus and Bhaarat is a Hindu nation and the non Hindus are also part of the Hindu nation. Swamy has said that Indian Muslims must either proudly accept and acknowledge their Hindu ancestors and legacy or be disenfranchised. To many that feels like hateful, communal prejudice.


In his article “Analysis: How to wipe out Islamic terror” he says –

* The terrorist blast in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, requires decisive soul-searching by the Hindus of India. Hindus cannot accept to be killed in this halal fashion, continuously bleeding every day.

* In one sense, I do not blame the Muslim fanatics for targeting Hindus. I blame Hindus who have taken their individuality permitted in Sanatan Dharma to the

extreme

* If half the Hindus voted together, rising above caste and language, a genuine Hindu party would have a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the assemblies.

* If one Hindu dies merely because he or she was a Hindu, then a bit of every Hindu also dies. This is an essential mental attitude, a necessary part of a virat (committed) Hindu.

* The second lesson for combating terrorism is that we must never capitulate or concede any demand, as we did in 1989 (freeing five terrorists in exchange for Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya) and in 1999, freeing three terrorists after the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814.

 

* The third lesson is that whatever and however small the terrorist incident, the nation must retaliate massively.

* Terrorist masterminds have political goals and a method in their madness. An effective strategy to deter terrorism is to defeat those political goals and to rubbish them by counter-terrorist action

* Remove Article 370 and resettle ex-servicemen in the valley. Create Panun Kashmir for the Hindu Pandit community. Look for or create an opportunity to take over PoK. If Pakistan continues to back terrorists, assist the Baluchis and Sindhis to get their independence.

* Remove the masjid in Kashi Vishwanath temple and the 300 masjids at other temple sites.

* Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus.

* Enact a national law prohibiting conversion from Hinduism to any other religion. Re-conversion will not be banned.

* Propagate the development of a Hindu mindset.

* If the Jews could be transformed from lambs walking meekly to the gas chambers to fiery lions in just 10 years, it should not be difficult for Hindus in much better circumstances (after all we are 83% of India), to do so in five years.

* Guru Gobind Singh showed us how just five fearless persons under spiritual guidance can transform a society.

Fiery but largely a secret wish of most Hindus and also an increasing wish too. The following has been the twitter messages in support (best of them

——————-

If Dr. Swamy is a bigot, how come as he said in his own words, ‘his brother-in-law is Jewish, his son-in-law Muslim, his sister-in-law Christian and his wife Parsi’, One of his two daughters is married to an Indian Muslim with whom he has closest relations, how can he possibly be a bigot against Indian Muslims. India is the biggest victim of terrorism and since 2004, most of the terrorism is home grown.

 

There is much going on in India beneath the surface against Hindus and Hinduism, who are resilient, but not as aggressive as the Christians, Muslims and the
self-negative Hindus who have fallen into the anti-Hindu self-negative trap because of one reason or another (like inferiority complex, nepotism, sycophancy, vote bank, money lure, politicking fun, selfishness etc).

These are serious matters, and, not just hypothetical or theoretical. Western money, power, influence is on the side of the Christians, and, they want to use the Muslims to do half their job. The Muslims are aided by Middle Eastern powers and Pakistan. Pak army and isi are in league with England, USA and china and are rooting for themselves, and their glory, using Taliban etc. Taliban is brainwashed by Islam, and spreading terror everywhere, including pak and afghan. Europe and UK want to use the pretext of terrorism to enter countries and twist their arms, manufacture conflicts,  get admiration and gratitude for themselves, so that they can keep dominating the world stage which they have done since colonial days.

So, dr swamy has given vent to the feelings of Hindus to counteract the aggressiveness of non-Hindus on Hindus, who have now been forced to defend
themselves.

The non-Hindu reaction shows that they expect Hindus to be tolerant, graceful, and magnanimous, treat others with equality and respect, but when they behave aggressively against Hindus, they expect Hindus to bend over backwards and let them have their way. It is one-way from their point of view, they are higher and Hindus are lower.

Non-Hindus in India must have respect for Hindus, temples, Hinduism, and, understand that it is only because of Hinduism that foreigners have not been
able to create another Africa out of it or wipe out Indian culture, people, and civilization as happened in North America. That’s the essence of dr swamy’s
message.

Most common Indian Christians and Muslims are like any average common Indian or Hindu citizen, but those who were in power and influence positions have not been able to understand this and work co-operatively and meaningfully with them, and with Hindus. The foreign hands are fanning the conflicts and problems.

This “secular” language of politics, used in anti-Hindu way has come to India from the English language. Otherwise, Hinduism is the only truly secular religion that exists today.

Even the “science establishment” is non secular because they want to do away with religion altogether, having adopted Darwin’s evolution theory as their
only salvation. It is self-aggrandizement and ego, money, power, influence that is coming in the way of real pursuit of truth or scientific spirit and methodology.

Finally, dr swamy has also been a victim of psychological manipulation and targeting by the system in USA and in India. His academic career did not take off in USA nor in India, or he would be a big tenured professor or Nobel laureate. His political career was also scuttled; otherwise he would have become a bigger leader in India, because of his capability, charm and skills. This has happened to many others also, in academia, in politics, everywhere. in my view, there has been an anti-Brahmin, anti-Hindu, anti-India targeted program in place driven by uk and Europe, supported by behind-the-scenes elements in usa and Israel, to keep India down, to stop it from rising high on the global stage.

Let us wait and see what happens. Of course, all we can do is just our bit,  and, our share, like every other person. What we do and how we do it can have an impact or influence on others.

 

Subramanian Swamy says he is not hateful of Muslims and Christians at all. It is first of all factually correct that Muslims of India have DNA wise the same DNA as us. And therefore there is nothing wrong with them acknowledging that their ancestors are Hindus. If they say Hindus are not their ancestors, then who could be their ancestors? Now after all we created Pakistan for those Muslims who didn’t consider themselves separate and are not ready to live with their Hindu brothers.

In a recent article in DNA Subramanian Swamy has said that Indian Muslims must either proudly accept and acknowledge their Hindu ancestors and legacy or be disenfranchised. To many that feels like hateful, communal prejudice. Doctor Swamy a former Law Minister is a Harvard professor. He is at the forefront of the campaign to bring the 2G accused to justice as Criminal Police and Corrupt Politicians are dominating Bhaarat Country since Independence.

 

Why Britain Is Burning

Why Britain Is Burning

By Rakesh Krishnan Simha, August 2011 [ rakeshmail@gmail.com]

Source: http://www.esamskriti.com/

Chapter : 1Britain’s descent into chaos is a pointer to the fate awaiting people in Western countries if their governments strip down the welfare state that has sustained two generations of prosperity.

“My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither. I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need. I offer the advice with a heavy heart. Let my words not be misrepresented as a simplistic call for people to shoplift.”

These are the words of Anglican priest Tim Jones, the vicar of London’s St James Anglican Church, to his congregation two days before Christmas 2009. (No, Jones is not a liberal or an anarchist by any means. A staunch pillar of Britain’s establishment, he once launched a tirade against yoga, calling it a Hindu contrivance and therefore, against his concept of God.)

So what made this most English of British subjects, a representative of the Christian church no less, offer an exception to the 8th commandment? Simple – desperation. As Jones noted, “The life of the poor in modern Britain is a constant struggle….a constant effort to achieve the impossible. For many at the bottom of our social ladder, lawful, honest life can sometimes seem to be an apparent impossibility.”

Unequal society After decades of Thatcherism and Tony Blair’s crony capitalism, the wheels are coming off the United Kingdom. According to a Wall Street Journal report, approximately 20 percent of the UK’s population lives in poverty. Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper commented that “intergenerational poverty, rare in most countries today, is a factor in a notable British subculture.”

That, however, is only half the picture. The increasing frequency of riots across the country is a stark reminder that Britain remains one of the most unequal societies in the world.

In 2009 the Alan Milburn Report revealed an uncomfortable truth – the previous twelve years had seen a widening gap between rich and poor and a decline in social mobility, and that children from the poorer social groups now have less chance of getting into the elite universities and the top professions than children born in 1958.

The report also showed that the 7 percent of the population who go to private schools (oddly called public schools) not only still dominate British society, but their dominance is increasing. They produce 75 percent of Britain’s judges, 70 percent of finance directors, 45 percent of top civil servants and 32 percent of MPs. Commented The Guardian newspaper: “Behind its modern veneer, British society is determined by who you know, and who your parents are.”

In Britain today, there are 70 applicants for every vacancy. In a country where nexus rules, it is the kids who are not well connected who hurt must. Upper class parents, with their school and university contacts, can more easily get jobs and internships for their children.

Perhaps the only thing Karl Marx – who incidentally crafted his discredited theories in Britain – got right is that the most difficult thing a person can do is to break free from his class. In Britain, where your accent gives away your social standing, gentrification, or the improvement in social standing, has become nearly impossible for the permanent underclass.

Riots are inevitable in a country where the recession threatens to produce a generation of young people who have been trying and failing to get jobs, and have lost the will to work. And it’s likely to get worse; the Centre for Cities, a British think tank, projects that by late 2011, youth unemployment will nearly triple.

Political disconnect Britain hasn’t had a popular leader in decades. After the smarmy Tony Blair, Prime Minister David Cameron came to power after considerable horse trading following a fractured electoral verdict. Britain is therefore governed by a party which does not command the support of a majority of voters. The disconnect between the elites and the rest can be measured by the fact that both Cameron and Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, were holidaying abroad and returned only after the country had endured three days of rioting.

Labour leader Ed Miliband stirred things up a bit by catering to the simmering class envy in the country. He taunted Cameron about his days as a member of the Bullingdon Club, “a raucous dining club for gilded toffs at Oxford with a track record of raucous, glass-breaking, food-throwing bad behaviour.”

Cuts that hurt While the old men jaw, the young men riot, spurred by the massive cuts in government spending, the hike in tuition fees, and the stopping of the measly $50 (approx) student stipend, especially at a time when the UK’s leading corporations have indulged in massive tax avoidance.

Much as the British elites would like to paint the rioters as unionised thugs or welfare hoons, the reality is they represent the struggling middle class too. As the Guardian reported, “The young, the poor, and disadvantaged will feel the cuts chill first, especially in the most deprived neighbourhoods and regions. But the healthy and wealthy will not be immune from the erosion of public space and collective provision, whether through the closure of public toilets, swimming pools, arts galleries, museums and orchestras, or the sacking of the park rangers that keeps public green space clean and safe.

“Grants will dry up, contracts will end, a third of charities will shut down, A&E and maternity units will start closing as waiting lists rise. Thousands more young people will join nearly a million already unemployed.”

Cuts to housing will see thousands end up sleeping on park benches and pavements.

Corruption and immigration Add corruption to that potent mix. The collusion of the police force with scumbag journalists is common knowledge to the outside world; less well known is corruption in the Mother of Parliaments. Britain’s MPs have used their various allowances to pay supermarket and video rental bills, or to buy houses while in fact staying with relatives, and in one bizarre case to have the moat cleaned at a private castle. Such scandals have severely undermined public faith in politics and politicians.

And of course there is the elephant in the room – a steady influx of immigrants, including uncountable illegals, that threatens to rip apart the country’s multicultural society. A large number of immigrants comprise Muslims who are notorious for ripping off Britain’s welfare system. Few are willing to assimilate but instead many have been known to join the jihad against the state that feeds them. The fallout of such unbridled immigration has resulted in the rise of the fascist right that now has two members in the European Parliament.

Sinking economy The cuts are perhaps inevitable. For, the recession has shrunk Britain’s GDP by over 5 percent. The ratings agencies are threatening to lower its AAA credit status, a move that could lead to a flight of capital. Ominously, Britain has a budget deficit that rivals that of Greece, and its national debt is soaring unsustainably.

Isn’t it hard to believe that this is the country preparing to host the 2012 Summer Olympics? It is debatable if Britain, which harbours many hardcore Islamic radicals and home-grown Muslim terrorists, is fully equipped to handle this new threat of civilian disrupters. The Games will also place additional financial burden on a country that can’t pay for basic public services!

Needed: New work culture At any rate, instead of playing sports Britain needs to get back to work. Its work culture – or rather the lack of it – has been parodied in the comic book “Asterix in Britain” in which Julius Caesar conquers the country by attacking only at tea-time and on weekends. Ratan Tata, the CEO of India’s Tata Group, has recently lamented about the work culture in Britain where the weekend starts after lunch on Friday. Tata acquired and turned round Britain’s Corus Steel, Land Rover and Jaguar, and it’s safe to assume that his British employees weren’t allowed to go home at midday.

For, the British must realise they are not competing with debt defaulting European cousins, but with powerhouses like China and India that have high growth rates inspite of not so good economic governance. The country’s position as a financial hub relies significantly on the back of foreign direct investment, much of it from Indians and Chinese. That tap may shut if the triple-A rating goes.

As their cities burn, for millions of Britons it must feel like the end of an era. But if they don’t turn around their country quickly, it could also be the beginning of another – irrelevance.

About the author: Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a New Zealand-based writer. He has previously worked with Business World, India Today, Hindustan Times, and was News Editor with the Financial Express.

 

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Hindu Americans Come of Age

Philip Goldberg

Interfaith Minister, author of ‘American Veda: How Indian Spirituality Changed the West’

Hindu Americans Come of Age

Posted: 8/8/11 07:58 AM ET

Last weekend I attended a conference in Washington sponsored by Hindu American Seva Charities (HASC), a non-profit established by Anju Bhargava, a formidable business executive and a member of President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The conference was titled Enlivening Dharmic Seva: Impacting Change in America and Abroad. With a few exceptions, such as me, the 200 or so participants were Hindu Americans of Indian descent. There were keynote speakers, including former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and White House staffers, and panels of experts expounding on a variety of themes. Mostly, it was about young people: American born Hindus, ranging from middle schoolers to recent college grads, with a passion for seva, a Sanskrit term best translated as selfless service.

The most surprising part of the weekend for me was the tribute to Hindus serving in the armed forces. These were not civilian software engineers at the Pentagon; they were warriors who had joined our volunteer military. I don’t know why this should have surprised me. After all, patriots from every new ethnic and religious group have done the same throughout the nation’s history. Perhaps seeing their proud faces atop snappy dress uniforms instead of kurtas or Nehru jackets shocked me into the recognition of their Americanness. The articulate strength and dedication of people like Lieutenant Colonel Ravi Chaudhary and Captain Pratima Dharm, the nation’s first Hindu military chaplain, was as moving as it was eye-opening.

The most inspiring part of the conference was the eighty or so Hindu American youngsters, whose intelligence, poise and determination made me feel hopeful for the future, despite the fact that, just down the road, the so-called adults who run the U.S. government were jeopardizing that future with their debt ceiling lunacy. I found myself wishing I could replace the Congressional leadership with those youngsters, who were bursting with creative ideas for making the world a better place. Footage of their confident speeches should be shown to anyone who doubts that America’s uniqueness is largely attributable to the continuous flow of energetic immigrants.

While in many ways the advent of Hindu Americans recapitulates the familiar immigrant story, it is also uniquely significant. Unlike Judaism, Catholicism and Islam, all newcomers to America at one time, Hinduism is not a variation on the Abrahamic tradition that arose in the Middle East and is rooted in biblical history and theology. It shares with other religions similar ethical principles, but it also represents a fundamentally different world-view. Beneath its colorful and much misunderstood iconography and rituals is a rational, pragmatic and uniquely pluralistic foundation centered on individual choice, inner spiritual development and union with the ultimate reality that goes by many names.

I consider this India’s great gift to the West. Others, of course, find it threatening. Some of the youth at the HASC conference told disheartening stories of ostracism, harassment and crude attempts at conversion by Christian classmates. This is as disturbing as it is difficult for teenagers to handle, and one hopes that corrective measures will be taken. At the same time, this too shall pass. After all, not that long ago many Americans thought Jews had horns and drank the blood of Christian babies on Passover. If Hindu youngsters avail themselves of their tradition’s own treasures, they will be able to respect the proselytizers’ religious convictions while at the same time cultivating inner peace and the capacity for skillful action through yogic practices. Over time, I’d predict that the ostracizers and would-be converters are more likely to be influenced by their Hindu counterparts than vice versa.

As I’ve documented in my book, American Veda, the core principles and practices of the Vedic heritage from which modern Hinduism derives have been seeping into the soil of America for over 200 years. The transmission has occurred through books, gurus and yoga masters, artists and musicians, scientists and scholars, and now it continues in subtle, mostly unintentional ways as Americans of Indian descent mingle with others in classrooms, workplaces and social settings.

No guru has ever asked a Westerner to convert to Hinduism, and neither would a Hindu friend or coworker; the very concept of conversion is anathema to Hindus. But ideas disseminate through friendly human interaction, and the result is often twofold: 1) misconceptions (e.g., that Hinduism is polytheistic or inherently caste-oriented) get cleared up, and 2) new ideas about spirituality, the self and the sacred get conveyed. As evidenced by the enormous interest in yoga and meditation, a large number of Americans have found the Indian model of inside-out spirituality to be quite compatible with modern life. Many have reoriented their own spiritual outlooks and practices accordingly, claiming it has made them deeper Christians, Jews or secular self-improvers.

So get ready for the next generation of Hindu Americans. We’re already familiar with Indian names in prominent places: Sanjay Gupta, Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Mira Nair, novelists like Anita Desai, PepsiCo CEO Indra K. Nooyi and too many Silicon Valley engineers and entrepreneurs to mention. Your doctor or lawyer might be of Indian descent. Now, accent-free, well-educated and thoroughly American Hindus will, like Jews and Catholics and Muslims before them, come to occupy a wide variety of professions, form a broad range of friendships and associations, intermarry and otherwise assimilate. As I jokingly tell my Hindu friends, one day they’ll even have their own Jackie Robinson/Hank Greenberg/Roberto Clemente moment, when a ballplayer named Patel or Bannerji or Coomaraswamy jogs onto the field of a Major League All-Star Game. I say we greet them all with a rousing Namaste.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-goldberg/hindu-americans_b_918930.html