N.Ram opposes triple talaq

In a rare display of courage, N.Ram writes against the practise of talaq, calling it regressive, arbitrary and undemocratic. Earlier, N.Ram called the burqa an oppressive garment. Are we seeing a change of heart? I bet not. It will be interesting to hear what he thinks of alimony, an issue linked to talaq and highlighted in Shah Bano case.  When the issue resurfaced recently, there was the usual denial from N.Ram and the media.
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Divorce in a trice

... reflects the regressive tendency among a section of the Muslim clergy to support the practice of triple talaq. This arbitrary form of divorce, which gives Muslim men the right to divorce their wives instantaneously by uttering or writing the word ‘talaq' thrice, has no place in a modern democratic society.

Dancing with the devil - Indo-Chinese meeting

Every Indian Chink meeting is given an aura similar to a teenage girl reviewing a Twilight movie by cHindu's writers. Case in point, Ananth Krishnan's love fest detailing the recent meeting.
With a flourish of a drunken geezer, he quotes some dolt in a Chink think tank.

“This meeting is very significant, as it has become increasingly important for both sides to better communicate their interests,” Rong Ying, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), an influential think tank, told The Hindu on Thursday.

Really and I thought the Indian Chinese meetings were to exchange dinner recipes.
He then goes on banally to detail the problems between the 2 nations,

Officials here acknowledge that a lack of trust has been particularly evident in recent months, as the year designated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties became marked by a series of diplomatic disputes.

The article goes on to perpetuate a set of views by diplomats and provides no insight barring this last douche. Shen Dingli, a leading strategic analyst at Fudan University who stated,

“I hope China, Pakistan and India would have maturity in developing win-win-win relationships.” On suggestions that China itself was concerned over increasing U.S. influence in Pakistan, and hence recently accelerated its engagement there, he said: “Some people may have that concern, but I think there are positives out of the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, too.”

Win-win-win relationship between a disorganized democracy, an Islamic terrorist fundamentalist and a pseudo Communist dictatorship? Keep dreaming Ananth, perhaps you will develop some writing skills out of thin air as well.

Hiding behind technicalities - Arundhati Roy charges

Being a journalist in many parts of the world is a tough job. Not wanting to banal, other than the TV heads and the heads of print media, most of the remaining journos have to fight multiple things like competition, lack of imagination, lack of news, reader fatigue to publish good stories. However given a great story like wacky "intellectual" Arundhati Roy pushing for separation of Kashmir from India, N.Ram and his team of jackasses publish what is probably the most banal articles possible titled '‘Sedition' versus free speech '.
Defending Ms.Roy for her treasonous activities, LiC initiates his salvo at the BJP,

It is deplorable that three sentences uttered at a seminar relating to the status of Kashmir within India should have evoked such zealous hyper-patriotic anger and resulted in demands for invoking harsh sedition laws.

He makes it claim as though she was charged during the Spanish Inquisition and burned on a stake!
The primary claim of all left wing journos is that they want freedom of speech when one of theirs makes treasonous statements. But when a nationalistic person makes a statement bashing China or Communism or a certain violent minority, the hypocritical N.Ram and his minions would be in a mad rush to beat them up.

In his classic defence of free speech, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill laid down what is known as the ‘harm principle.' It postulates that the only justification for silencing a person against his will is to prevent him from causing harm to others. It is to this powerful libertarian mid-19th century principle that we owe the idea that free speech cannot be proscribed merely because we find it disagreeable, and that curbs may be imposed only if such expression constitutes a direct, explicit, and unequivocal incitement to violence.

What Arundhati Roy did was exactly that. Supporting the rock throwing militants of Kashmir, who have for years sucked on the funds from the "special" status provided by Article 370 is a clear unambiguous evidence of treason. For all the free speech thrown around by the jerk N.Ram, how about publishing articles of the pogrom conducted by these stone throwing militants? Or the plight of the Kashmiri Hindus who were evicted from their homes?
But these are not the voices N.Ram and his minions like Sidd Varadarajan want to listen to. This is the real BS pushed as editorials by cHindu.

Return of Kasim Sait to cHindu

This "avid reader" of cHindu has nothing but the highest of praise to anything done by LiC and his minions. So its a pleasant surprise to his thoughts on the words of Arundhati Roy on the Kashmir issue:

The editorial “‘Sedition' versus free speech” (Oct. 27) is a classic defence of free speech, which only a steadfast defender of freedom of speech like The Hindu can make. The noisy clamour made by the BJP is a damp squib, as shown by the strong support extended to this cause by none other than the BJP's own fellow traveller, Ram Jethmalani. Why can't a writer, a painter, an educationist or a creative artist express his or her views freely in a liberal democratic country like ours? Why has one to constantly look over one's shoulder for expressing one's opinion and for not being termed a seditionist or one who has hurt somebody's religious or other kind of feelings? Should not our civil society draw upon the lead provided by such bold media initiatives as that of The Hindu and struggle to build a movement to usher in a really sincere liberal society, rather than the one dictated by the whims of extremist elements in society?
Kasim Sait,
Chennai

This is probably the only time you will hear "bold media initiatives" and cHindu being associated in the same sentence.

Universal entitlement to food

PDS existed in various shades for most part of independent India. But it had little impact in ensuring food security because of the extent of corruption. Rajiv Gandhi remarked that the PDS struggled due to 90% pilferage. Our experiments with socialism failed miserably and there is no reason to bring Nehruvian policies back. Congress is creating a culture of entitlements driven by state control. Congress is the new Left. The Left parties have lost relevance and their support base.

Kerala, although being a money-order economy, had to revert to targeted distribution. It wont be long before TN drops the current scheme. But N.Ram has ideological compulsions in supporting universal entitlement to food.
The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : A single solution

There is a single — and conceptually uncomplicated — solution to the problem of mass food insecurity in India: a universal entitlement to cereals and other basic components of a food basket.

China imposes Mandarin in Tibet

China has imposed Mandarin as the primary language for all students in Tibet, replacing the native Tibetian language. This is part of a plan to replace all Tibetian books within the next 5 years and teach mandarin going forward.
This has been relegated to the footnote by most Indian media outlets including "honest" journalists like LiC and his rag the cHindu.
We will be providing updates on this issue on a frequent basis.
Hat tip to Kuttychathan and Xinhua Ram for alerting us to this issue.

Krishna Iyer on Cricket - the insanity continues

cHindu's favorite loony uncle returns to enlighten us with his views on cricket.
I read this article twice but could not understand (nothing unusual here) heads or tails of what he means to convey.
If you do, please let us know :)

Bhookey-nangey Hindustan

Mary Roy winning a court case made it to news solely because she is the mother of Arundhati Roy. Surely, Arundhati Roy's call for secession and her description of Hindustan as "bhookey-nangey" should have meant a lot more to the readers. But most of the ELM seems to have simply ignored her comments or mentioned it in passing while putting the focus on Geelani. Chindu, too, simply ignored the inflammatory parts of Arundhati Roy's speech, while reporting on the event. Why so? Is this some form of page 3 journalism glorifying the trivial? No, this is secular reporting.
Arundhati Roy’s mother gets property share after 24 years

Twenty-four years after the Supreme Court’s historical judgment giving equal rights to Syrian Christian women along with their male siblings on family property, a sub court in Kottayam on Wednesday executed the final decree in favour of litigant Mary Roy.

Mary Roy, a celebrated champion of women’s fight for equality and gender justice, is mother of Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy.

The Pioneer :: Home : >> Inciting secessionism

the open call to Kashmiris to secede from “bhookey-nangey Hindustan” by author-activist-anarchist Arundhati Roy who incited students of Aligarh Muslim University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University to “fight for the cause of separate Kashmir… a cause that is your future”.

cHindu celebrates American sponsorship from benefactor Pakistan

Many hypocritical Indian media outlets have claimed a holier than thou attitude on the paid news scandal. Now this news release US gives $2 billion aid to Pakistan to fight terror.

The United States on Friday announced that it would provide a whopping $2.29 billion as military aid to Pakistan to bolster its army's anti-terror capabilities, notwithstanding India's concerns that Islamabad has been diverting a portion of such assistance against it.

You might ask why is this important here. But a careful observation of cHindu's editorial and news policies clearly expose it as THE main outlet in India which exposes Pakistan's cause.
It has continued to support Pakistan even when it sponsored terror attacks on Indian citizens, fomenting troubles in numerous Indian states. Is this anything to do with ideology?
cHindu's Communist loving ideology has nothing to do with the Islamic fascist state. Then logically the only scenario is that of money. cHindu not only supports Pakistani ideology within its editorials, but also its views on Kashmiri separatism.
At least the Americans showed some sensibility in portraying it as a Indian-Pakistani issue rejecting calls for intervention by Pakistan.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, addressing journalists at the Foreign Press Center here on Friday, rejected fresh calls by Pakistan seeking Washington's intervention on the Kashmir issue. The U.S. made it clear that it was for India and Pakistan to find a resolution through “additional dialogue.” The American position was affirmed after Mr. Qureshi insisted earlier in the day that the U.S. played an active role in the resolution of Kashmir and other disputes in the South Asian region.

Summary of ASI Report on Ayodhya excavations

A very interesting article by the ever effervescent Swapan Dasgupta - Summary of ASI Report on Ayodhya excavations.

Subsequently, during the early medieval period (eleventh - twelfth century A.D.) a huge structure, nearly 50 m in north-south orientation was constructed which seems to have been short lived, as only four of the fifty pillar bases exposed during the excavation belong to this level
with a brick crush floor. On the remains of the above structure was constructed a massive structure with at least three structural phases and three successive floors attached with it.

MMS wins Don Quixote award for world leaders

There are many types of world leaders from Zardari who claims there's no bad LeT, to Ahmedinajad who claims holocaust was a fraud. Add Manmohan Singh to the list.
MMS is one of those cerebral comedians, more in the line of P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie.

rime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for quickening the pace of developing scientific knowledge and application relevant to the needs of developing countries, while cautioning against the development path followed by the industrialised nations.

Perhaps some credit goes to the writer of cHindu but this sort of writing went out with the 60s when Nehru created his "Non-aligned" movement.
He goes on to imagine,

We have seen how the path of development followed by the industrialised countries has the potential to threaten our existence and way of life. I have, therefore, wondered whether there is an alternative and more sustainable way of developing our societies and economies without injuring and destroying the bounty of Mother Earth.

Really, here are a few thoughts, how about family planning, planned mining, preventing illegal immigrants, focus on agriculture.....
But then again these are simple solutions which MMS would we wise to heed or for the cHindu writers to analyze.

Fwd: The never-ending special status proopaganda

well written comment. abolishing of privy purses is a very good point. there is no reason to continue with special status for kashmir. hyderabad was forcibly integrated into the union by annexation. what we need is the political will for integration and not devolution of power.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Chindu gleefully beats the Kashmiri separatists' drum.

In today's editorial Chindu's Chief thunders about the concept of "special status for the troubled State" because "Kashmir had not merged with the Union of India but had only acceded to it under an agreement".

The ediotiral continues to pontificate:

"By underlining the fact that while Kashmir had adhered to the Indian Union, it had been promised by the makers of India's Constitution that the unique circumstances of its accession would be respected, the Chief Minister was building the case for a substantive devolution of powers to the State."

Note the key words such as special status, acceded under an agreement, respecting unique circumstances of its accession, substantive devolution of powers etc. etc.

Nearly 500 or so kingdoms, chota and burrah, acceded/merged with the Indian Union. What is so special about Kashmir which we can not find with the erstwhile kingdoms of Baroda, Gwalior, Mysore, Patiala, Travancore etc.?

What about the constitutionally guranteed promise of privy purse (to the ex-rajahs) which was subsequently abolished?

Why can't Chindu fight the case for greater federalism, pleading for special status, substantive devolution of powers for all the states of the Indian Union? Why only for Kashmir?

Why can't Mr. Ram come out openly and declare Kashmir is special because of the religion of the majority of the population (Jammu is just an appendage anyway).
--------------------------------------
Facing up to Kashmir realities

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article836314.ece

N.Ram welcomes the Archbishop

I guess, N.Ram spent Dussehra with religious fervour in the holy company of Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
The Hindu : National : “Listen to the voices of other faiths”

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, said the Archbishop had been a committed unifier and someone who had consistently progressive positions on issues such as the war on Iraq, nuclear weaponisation or obscurantist doctrines.

Fwd: Temple "affected" during muslim invasion

"affected" by muslim invasion in what way? may be, it was very touched by the invader's kindness. the temple administrators must have been so moved that they chose to write about the barbarians in both stone and copper, hoping that atleast one will survive the iconoclasts. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anonymous 

Here is another specimen of selective secular reporting by Chindu.

In the most recent Friday Review (which incidentally is one of the few redeeming features of The Hindu), there is a report on the Siva temple in Mahendra Mangalam (Tiruchi District).

We are told (with due secular care and attention) that the temple built by the Maratha rulers, was "affected during the Muslim invasion." The report also mentions that inscriptions on stone and copper vouch for these facts.

Here is the history of a temple, situated deep inside, in the heart of Tamil Nadu being "affected" due to the Muslim invasion. Then one can imagine about how the temples in northern India (directly exposed to the Muslim invasion, in the first line of attack) would have been "affected".

But, one has to be thankful for small mercies from a secular citadel, for allowing such communal terminologies as (Hindu) temples getting "affected" and that too due to "Muslim invasion".

--------------------------------------
On the banks of the Cauvery

This Siva temple is in Mahendra Mangalam.

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/10/15/stories/2010101551230400.htm

Nonsense called 'secular miracle'

LiC jumping in the bandwagon of the Chilean mining rescue story, has created another asinine concoction called 'secular miracle'.
The precise working of a group of international scientists, engineers, mining experts, NASA, Chilean Govt and others has somehow been summarized into such ignorant terms.

The workers whose bare-chested images in their sweltering dwelling had become familiar to people worldwide were reborn, thanks to a modern-day secular miracle. Those who were reunited with their families naturally felt that life meant much more to them now.

He then goes on to finish of with the usual rant on worker safety.

Workers in all countries, particularly those risking life and limb in hazardous occupations, will see in the Chilean ordeal hope for change — that in its wake, the world will pay greater attention to worker safety.

(Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing this out)

Who is Sonia cheering for in the CWG?

cHindu has a snap of Sonia and Prince ignorant Rahul cheering on someone in the CWG.


Wonder who they are cheering for? India or Pakistan?

cHindu recomends azaadi to Kashmir

The jerks at Anna Salai have added one more to their growing brood. In an article by Dr. Vithal Rajan - The Kashmir imbroglio: thinking the unthinkable , the author recommends giving Kashmir its freedom by offering it on a platter to Pakistan. He follows that up with several ideas which in normal circumstances would put him in an asylum. But since he writes for cHindu, he would be in an editorial positions as his opinions suck up to those of LiC.

If Indian troops are out of Kashmir, would it jeopardise the security of Indians? Not really. The mountainous barrier between the Kashmir Valley and India is a better defensive line to guard than the present long untenable frontier of the Line of Control. Should we be there in Kashmir against all odds out of moral obligation, because the people of the Valley are dependent on our protection?

While I agree with the writer that Kashmiris have hated India, speaking to many they would prefer India to the hell hole currently known as Pakistan.
The writer then goes on to state foreign policy which has nothing to do with this article,

It has taken Great Britain 60 years to realise it is no longer the centre of an empire. Indian rulers have yet to realise they are no longer in charge of ‘the jewel in the crown.' Indians are not the leaders of Asia — the Chinese are.

Even an egomaniac like Late Pandit Nehru had no illusions that India was the de facto leader of Kashmir. The current leaders have no such illusions of grandeur. Then he states how India should forget the hapless citizens of Tibet,

India should not play dirty pool with China, and harbour Tibetan governments-in-exile. Let it not be forgotten that one of the causes of the India-China border war of 1962 was the covert activities of the CIA from Indian bases.

And states India should become a surrogate or puppet to China,

India should mend its fences pronto with China, and accept the glaring fact that they are bigger, and better

I'm sure LiC would be happy rubbing his cats belly like one Dr. Evil reading this sentence. I'm surprised it was not headlined.
Though I do agree with the writer's last statement which should be extended to Kashmir immediately.

India might have to redraw the frontiers, absorbing Jammu and Ladakh into India without any special status. Whatever the final shape of the outcome, India must be proactive in demanding an immediate international settlement of a problem created by Nehru.

Baseless, irrational beliefs

The Aryan Invasion Theory has been discredited and Lemuria has been relegated as fictional, but the patriarch of Dravidian separatism continues to indulge in the charade. Karunanidhi romanticises Dravidian history while scoffing at Aryan civilisation. It paid rich political dividends in the past but the world has moved on since. But he clings on to his baseless, irrational beliefs on the mythical Aryan invasion and Dravidian subjugation.
The Hindu : Front Page : “Rama's birthplace traced, but not Raja Raja's memorial”

“But the Aryan civilisation that tried to upstage the Dravidian race is keen on only inculcating irrational beliefs in the people without any basis.”

Neena Vyas reports her own interpretations as news

In what must be the worst forms of journalistic reporting, Neena Vyas interprets BJP's statements with malice. What we read is not excerpts from the press release but an exclusive version of what she thinks is the intention behind those statements. How she came to those conclusions is not known but it reveals her sick mind.
Neena Vyas makes no attempt to hide behind a fig leaf while exposing her own secular credentials. This article should make her a top contender for the worst reporter of the year, with Siddharth Varadarajan running a close second.
The Hindu : Front Page : Post-verdict, the BJP's talk of ‘reconciliation'

It is becoming clearer by the day that when the Bharatiya Janata Party and the larger Sangh Parivar talk of “reconciliation” between Hindus and Muslims post-Ayodhya verdict, they simply mean that Muslims must voluntarily give up all claims to any portion of the disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood till December 1992.
The spokesperson also suggested that ordinary Muslims wanted reconciliation (read want to surrender that right on the one-third disputed site) and that it was the “secularists” who wanted the conflict to continue.

Interesting analysis on post Ayodhya life

Hat tip to Sudhir for analyzing this article. Please read his expert opinion here.
Some sections from Sudhir's article here,

Sample this - "
However, most people added a caveat: This did not imply unreserved acceptance of the verdict. I reminded them of the Muslim promise that the community would honour the verdict, no matter how it went."

Why was that "reminder" needed, Vidya? Did they say they are not honouring the verdict? Did anyone say "You know what, we ain't care a hoot about the verdict, what follows is pure violence"? They just said they don't agree with it. Now, from when did that become a crime? They are well within their rights to disagree with the judgement, and yet decide to move on.

Of the many writers in cHindu, Vidya Subrahmaniam is a slightly different kind. She has the narrative of a story teller and the pace of a dhobi mule. Her opinions though stick to the age old cHindu stereotypes of young Muslims being peaceful and pain against the Indian state.
Guess old dogs cant be taught new tricks.

In law, a temple and a mosque cannot be considered on a par

T.R. Andhyarujina
is trying to incite the muslims by creating a sense of victimhood by repeatedly harping on the demolition. He is trying to frame the legal issue within the context of 1992 event and obviously by twisting facts.
The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : A verdict that legitimises the Masjid demolition

it will leave simmering resentment in the Muslim community, for it will see that as the court's condonation and legitimisation of a place of worship having been vandalised.

Subramanian Swamy exposes the fallacy of Andhyarujina's arguments.
The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Fundamental issue in Ayodhya case

But in law, a temple and a mosque cannot be considered on a par as far as sacredness is concerned.
This is the position in Islamic law as well since in Saudi Arabia the authorities demolish mosques to lay roads. Even the mosque where Prophet Mohammed used to pray was demolished.

cHindu chokes on hearing Liu winning Nobel prize

In what was a sensational announcement by the Nobel committee,

Jailed Chinese political activist Liu Xiaobo, 54, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a decision the Chinese government has criticised as “a blasphemy.”

The committee said,

the award went to Mr. Liu, who is in prison for his calls for political reform, “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”

Of course cHindu with its top dog LiC and others were probably shattered to hear the news that Norway had shown the symbolic finger to China and did not address this news in an editorial which it richly deserves but rather in a news article by Ananth K.
In response the Chinese had this to say,

The Chinese Foreign Ministry warned that the award would adversely affect the ties between China and Norway. “Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law,” it said. The award ran “… counter to the principle of the [Nobel Peace] Prize."

I'm sure no one in Norway is quaking in their boots at this saber rattling. Here's hoping that more Liu's step up and clean that cesspool which is India's northern neighbor. India should take cue from Norway and probably award one of the Gandhi family awards, Priyanka Kutha Gandhi award or something to Liu and piss of the Chinese.

Mushy confirms Pak sponsored terrorism

Former Pak prez Pervez Musharraf confirmed what all (other than writers in cHindu) have said all along that Pakistan has been training and funding terrorism in India over the last few decades.

In an interview to Der Spiegel, General Musharraf said militant groups “were indeed formed” to fight India in Kashmir.

Now that their former President has accepted their culpability in this issue, can we go ahead and flush out the rats in Kashmir?
Not so surprisingly the Indian media has been slow in jumping on this issue to force Pakistan to officially address this issue. The next time you hear someone in the media claim how the people of Pak are not to blame for this, you should forward this article to them.

Douchebag of week- Siddharth Varadarajan

There are several jackasses in cHindu writing "articles" or "pieces of opinion". But the person who takes the cake is Siddharth Varadarajan or Sidd as we call him here. This post by Srivathsa cleanly exposes this big cheese of prima donnas.
This pompous douche tries to play the part of expert lawyer,

the court has inadvertently provided a shot in the arm for a political movement that cited the very same “faith” and “belief” to justify its open defiance of the law and the Indian Constitution.

Literary expert,

Tulsidas wrote his Ramcharitmanas in 16th century Ayodhya but made no reference to the birthplace of Lord Rama that the court has now identified with such exacting precision five centuries later.

Indiana Jones,

This was done in 2003, during the time when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government was in power at the Centre. Not surprisingly, the ASI concluded that there was a “massive Hindu religious structure” below, a finding that was disputed by many archaeologists and historians.

And ends up looking like a prime jackass which he is. For each of the above there are numerous reliable archeological sources proving that the temple existed, was demolished by Babar's generals and the building known as Babri Masjid was another dilapidated unused building. The court ruling itself covered thousands of pages of reports and Sidd somehow digested all of these in a few hours and wrote his judgment piece on the irrationality of the court judgment. Must have some awesome speed reading skills.
But then again when did 'secular' bigots like Sidd Varadarajan ever bother to do things like research or balanced reporting?
Even if there were detailed proof of evidence, these sickular writers would question the judgment:

• Written proof by Babar on a stamp paper that he ordered demolition of Ram Mandir
• Birth certificate of Ram that he was born in Ayodhya
• Portraits from Babur's architects on how Masjid was built on foundation of temple

They play to their audience which is other sickular monkeys or JNU jholawallah crowds who despise everything in ancient Indian culture that is of Hindu origin.
You know what I'm sick of this and gladly show my proverbial middle finger to Sidd Varadarajan and his paymasters at cHindu.

Muslims happy; secularists aghast

Muslims seem to have accepted the verdict as a way forward and this response from the Shia group deserves applause.
The Hindu : National : Shia group offers donation to Ram temple

Opposing any move to appeal against the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute, a Shia youth organisation here announced a donation of Rs.15 lakh towards the construction of the much-debated Ram temple at Ayodhya.

“I feel the board should take an initiative to end the dispute for good,” Hussaini Tigers chief Shamil Shamsi asserted on Saturday, saying that Muslim leaders must stick to their word of abiding by the verdict.

However, our secular intellectuals seem to be aghast at the verdict. Given that their career growth hinges upon communal violence, any sort of hindu-muslim compromise would set their alarm bells ringing. So they have taken up the mantle of islamic rage boys and are spilling red ink on the pages of chindu. The same bunch of people who have called for abiding by the verdict are now questioning the courts.

The Hindu : Front Page : Ayodhya verdict yet another blow to secularism: Sahmat
The Hindu : Front Page : A political statement, says Arundhati Roy

This contrast has also been highlighted by our reader Xinhua Ram in an earlier comment:

Muslim Indians reacted with much more tolerance than the JNU types. Contrast these two:

Indan Muslims:
Am I happy about the judgement? Yes, very happy; not only I but my entire family. The relief following the verdict on the contentious Ayodhya issue was so great that my 28-year-old son gave his parents a lavish dinner...

JNU Types:
Social activist Shabnam Hashmi says this judgement makes her feel like “a second class citizen”, Irfan Habib has said this “compromise judgement” has come at the cost of “history and facts”

Siddharth Varadarajan, the speed reader!

Cometh the time, Cometh the man. Its Siddharth Varadarajan (Siddha Anartha) again. As a posterboy of Chindu, he never fails to deliver. These days he seems to be working overtime after having probably taken lessons in rapid reading. You can find his article here. Same link:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/01/stories/2010100163711400.htm

We request Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) to give us the address of the school from where he took the speed-reading classes so that we can digest the Ram Janam Bhoomi jugdement delivered by the Allahabad (prayAgam) High Court and get an "understanding" of it as he has. As we are lesser mortals (yet, i.e. not yet done the speed-reading class), we seek to understand Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) in his own words and attempt a humble analysis of the same:

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has made judicial history by deciding a long pending legal dispute over a piece of property in Ayodhya on the basis of an unverified and unsubstantiated reference to the “faith and belief of Hindus.”

Faith and belief of the Hindus need "verification and substantiation", while the faith and belief of those people who burn transport buses in Bangalore to vent their anger against some cartoons drawn in Denmark need no "verification and substantiation". Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) silence about (i) The Danish cartoon issue, (ii) The destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas (iii) The imposition of restrictions against films and film songs in Swat province by bigoted Taliban, (iv) The imposition of similar restrictions in Afghanistan by Taliban during their regime (v) The killing of women by stoning on frivolous charges of adultery in Iran (vi) The bigotry of the Saudi Arabia in not permitting anyone entering its territory from having any religious symbols apart from Islamic - has been deafening. But then, Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) is a battle hardened knave.

The irony is that in doing so, the court has inadvertently provided a shot in the arm for a political movement that cited the very same “faith” and “belief” to justify its open defiance of the law and the Indian Constitution.

The "irony" of the Shah Bano case where the judgement of the apex court was upturned in the "people's court" is something that we should all forget. In Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) fantasy world, all these are at best inconvenient truths, best forgotten.

The three learned judges of the Allahabad High Court may have rendered separate judgments on the title suit in the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi case but Justices Sudhir Agarwal, S.U. Khan and Dharam Veer Sharma all seem to agree on one central point: that the Hindu plaintiffs in the case have a claim to the disputed site because “as per [the] faith and belief of the Hindus” the place under the central dome of the Babri Masjid where the idols of Ram Lalla were placed surreptitiously in 1949 is indeed the “birthplace” of Lord Ram.

First of all, if you call someone as "learned", the least you can do is to respect their judgement. But then, hypocrisy is Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) second nature. Hindus do not even have a right to a faith that a certain place is the "birthplace" of Lord Ram. They have to take permission from Siddha Anarthas of today. For identity-less people, it galls to see other people asserting their identity.

For every Hindu who believes the spot under the central dome of the Babri Masjid is the precise spot where Lord Ram was born there is another who believes something else.

The census-man and psephologist in Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) had to speak out. He had conducted a nationwide survey to arrive at this "fact". We lesser mortals shouldn't question this.

But leaving aside the question of who “the Hindus” referred to by the court really are and how their actual faith and belief was ascertained and measured, it is odd that a court of law should give such weight to theological considerations and constructs rather than legal reasoning and facts.

The question of place of birth of a certain historical or mythical character can be a "theological" one. But for Siddhartha (Siddha Anartha), anything concerned with God (Theos) should be shunned. But then why should he lecture Hindus as to what should be their faith?
Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) is not only a master of law, but also a master of rapid reading that he could digest the thousands of pages of judgement in 2-3 days to come to a conclusion that the judges haven't considered "legal reasoning" and "facts". (I cannot resist the temptation of a ROFL here :D)

Tulsidas wrote his Ramcharitmanas in 16th century Ayodhya but made no reference to the birthplace of Lord Rama that the court has now identified with such exacting precision five centuries later.

This sentence stands testimony to the irresponsibility, corruption, and malice of Siddharth (Siddha Anartha). The least any journalist could have done is "verification and substantiation" (See above for his lecture to the judges on "verification and substantiation") of his facts. For the benefit of Siddharth (Siddha Anartha), let us ask him to read one doha from the rAmacharitamAnasa (we are sure that he hasn't even read a word of it, for if he had, a crore sins of his would have been washed away and he wouldn't have written such heinous anti-hindu propaganda):
1. taha kari bhoga bisaala taata gae kachu kaala puni.
hoihahu avadha bhuaala taba main hoba tumhaara suta..
"Having enjoyed extensive enjoyments there you [Manu and Shatarupa] shall, after some time, be born as king of Ayodhya; then, odear[sic] one, I will be your son." (matter in square brackets mine.)
rAmacharitamAnasa, bAlakANDa, doha 151, can be found in rAmacharitamAnasa published by giita press gorakhpur, pg 171. The same can be downloaded here. You may copy paste the following link alternately:
http://www.gitapress.org/BOOKS/1318/1318_Sri%20Ramchritmanas_Roman.pdf

2. avadhapurii raghukulamani rAu. beda bidita tehi dasaratha naaU..
In the city of Ayodhya thre ruled a king who was a jewel of Raghu's race. he was called dasharatha, a name which is familiar in the vedas. (rAmacharita mAnasa, bAlakANDa, chaupai 4 after doha 187).

We can multiply instance after instance where tulasiidaasa (Tulsidas) clearly states the city of birth of rAma was Ayodhya. But then, tulasiidaasa was not watchful enough to give the exact street address of rAma's janmasthaana because he didn't foresee the likes of Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) asking for "verification and substantiation" for the place of birth of rAma. In the absence of the exact street address, we can make Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) life easier by suggesting that the whole of Ayodhya is the place of birth of rAma and no mosque be kindly constructed there. Will the Muslims or Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) accept construction of a rAma temple just beside their mosque at Mecca?

The “faith and belief” that the court speaks about today acquired salience only after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a political campaign in the 1980s to “liberate” the “janmasthan.”

This is a disingenuous claim of Siddharth (Siddha anartha). When tulasiidaasa (to whom Siddharth[Siddha Anartha] seeks to impute the omission of the place of birth of rAma) wrote his rAmacharitamAnasa, he was following the movement of Vishwa Hindu parishad!!! So also the likes of kamban of drAviDadesha, kR^ittivAsa of va.ngadesha, pampa of karnATaka, and multitudes of others!!! Please see this link for a partial listing of different versions of rAmAyaNa:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versions_of_Ramayana
This was only till the advent of the messiah Siddharth (Siddha Anartha), who seeks to disabuse the Hindus of the mistaken notion planted into them by the heinous Vishwa Hindu Parishad!!!

Collectives in India have faith in all sorts of things but “faith” cannot become the arbiter of what is right and wrong in law. Nor can the righting of supposed historical wrongs become the basis for dispensing justice today.

"Faith" cannot become the arbiter of what is right and wrong in law? But Chinese government's opinions should become an arbiter. We understand it Siddharth (Siddha Anartha). We remember your articles crying hoarse about the falling through of the foolish Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan-China gas pipeline. Moreover, Hinduism (A recognised religion in the Constitution of India) is just a "collective" (something like a laughter club or an old men's club or a trade-union in a PSU). Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) condescension and contempt for Hinduism is clear from this. But then, what else can be expect to come from the Chindu's columnists?

One of the questions the court framed was “whether the building has been constructed on the site of an alleged Hindu temple after demolishing the same.” Pursuant to this question, it asked the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a dig at the site. This was done in 2003, during the time when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government was in power at the Centre. Not surprisingly, the ASI concluded that there was a “massive Hindu religious structure” below, a finding that was disputed by many archaeologists and historians.

When ASI failed to toe Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) line, it is because the ASI survey was conducted during NDA rule. I think this is a serious charge against the ASI and the ASI may find it appropriate to file a defamation suit against Siddharth (Siddha Anartha). One is surprised that the "secular" Ulta Pulta Alliance (UPA) which has been at the helm since 2004 didn't influence the ASI to find something more "secular" under the janmasthaan. Tthe CPI(M) for which Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) and his newspaper (Chindu, or "The Hindu") has ample sympathy, were partners of the UPA till the Indo-US nuclear deal. They could have easily done the bidding of Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) and forced the ASI to find something "secular".

The territory of India — as of many countries with a settled civilisation as old as ours — is full of buildings that were constructed after pre-existing structures were demolished to make way for them. Buddhist shrines made way for Hindu temples. Temples have made way for mosques. Mosques have made way for temples. So even if a temple was demolished in the 16th century to make way for the Babri Masjid, what legal relevance can that have in the 21st century?

This is another malicious charge that Siddharth levels against Hindus "Buddhist shrines made way for HIndu temples". When the communist historians have been challenged time and again to come up with a shred of evidence to support this claim, they have drawn blank. The understanding that they want the people to gulp down unquestioningly is very clear: "Now, come on!!! Everyone has been destroying every other temple in history, what is the big deal in it? Accept this and move on with life". When overwhelming proof from Islamic chroniclers are presented to them, we get deafening silence. If Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) is so concerned about Buddhist shrines, why doesn't he start a movement for restoration of Buddhist temples? Why doesn't he start by writing a few kind words about the Buddhist regime of Tibet which has been forced to live in exile in India? Why doesn't he write a few kind words in support of the Buddhists who are facing demographic change in Tibet because of settlement of thousands of Han Chinese? But then, he isn't serious about this, he wants to score a rhetorical point with a "suppressio veri suggestio falsi".

We request Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) to kindly come up with a scholarly rebuttal to the book "Hindu Temples What happened to them". For his benefit, we give the link to the online version of the book in two volumes:
http://voi.org/books/htemples1/
http://voi.org/books/htemples2/
The above book gives evidence from Islamic chroniclers about thousands of Hindu temples which were destroyed by political Islam. For his part, Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) may also kindly produce for us evidence about "Buddhist shrines made way for HIndu temples". We hope he won't disappoint us. For Siddharth's (Siddha Anartha's) kind attention, we quote here the statement of a non-Hindu, non-VHP historian, an American historian, Will Durant:
"The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precious good, whose delicate complex of order and freedom, culture and peace, can at any moment be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within."
We can wake up sleeping people, but not people who keep pretending to sleep.

Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) has probably learnt the art of pre-emptive attack that his Chinese mentors follow. Hence he comes up with another gem:

And if such demolition is to serve as the basis for settling property disputes today, where do we draw the line? On the walls of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi can be seen the remnants of a Hindu temple, perhaps even of the original Vishwanath mandir. Certainly many “Hindus” believe the mosque is built on land that is especially sacred to them. The denouement of the Babri case from agitation and demolition to possession might easily serve as a precedent for politicians looking to come to power on the basis of heightening religious tensions.

Yes, Siddharth (Siddha Anartha), you will hear soon from us (the awakened Hindus). We aren't asking for too much, we are asking for 3 temples (two more now) out of thousands destroyed by Islamic bigots (Not very much more bigoted than you. You are an intellectual iconoclast, they were and are physical iconoclasts. Both of you have a visceral hatred of Hindus and Hinduism.)

Even assuming the tainted ASI report is correct in its assessment that a Hindu temple lay below the ruins of the Babri Masjid, neither the ASI nor any other expert has any scientific basis for claiming the architects of the mosque were the ones who did the demolishing.

This is Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) at his poetic best. Ooooo... he is being too irresistible here. See, how even-handed he is (he is actually granting that the ASI report may be correct, albeit rhetorically)!!! The architects of the mosque didn't do the demolishing, they got labourers to do it for them. By this logic, they didn't build it either. The mosque wasn't built by the "architects". It was the wily Hindus who brought up a structure resembling a mosque so that they could beat the s***t out of the muslims centuries later. Another ROFL moment. So, Siddharth (Siddha Anartha) surely has a humour bone in the right place. Only that his humour is turning out to be more of a farce these days.

CWG fiasco is Nehruvian socialism's dirty secret

The widespread publicity received by the CWG mess has drawn equally diverse responses from across the globe. A common emerging thread seems to be the loss of national pride even among those who otherwise consider nationalism a dirty word. As if it were not quaint enough, there is a palpable--though hitherto non-existent--sense of embarrassment and shame at the way soiled linens from the CWG complex were splashed across the web.

Such curiously misplaced sense of national honor and public dignity is quite baffling. Though several facile excuses have been served to reclaim spent glory, the CWG rot being a function of birth pangs seems to possess most takers. Sadly, even those more restrained and detached from the "Yippee" exuberance are nonetheless tarred by this phenomenon. Once international interest subsides and foreign teams return, court historians and Delhi sultanate's mandarins will declare victory and head home--TV studios and broadsheet pages that is. It is precisely why there now is a serious urgency to decouple national pride from the success or failure of CWG.

While the perceptive causes are 'Jugaad' and 'chalta hai,' themselves a bastard progeny of the protectionist era, the root cause is Nehruvian socialism, the lifeblood of protectionist tendencies. The dynasty's patriarch bequeathed the country with a deadly ideology and a moribund culture that wiped out the dignity attached to responsibility and enterprise. In pandering to the lowest common denominator of a newly unshackled populace, it offered a numbingly false sense of security that rested in continuation of a stolid status quo. With mediocrity thus metastasized, and then duly lionized by his daughter Indira, it was only a matter of time before the bills came due. That inception has now engulfed the nation, and will perhaps consume it, if it hasn't already.

Whatever the outside chance for salvation, lies within. The culture of grievance and sleaze will need to make way for a public hunger for merit, accomplishment, and recognition. Whoever manages to fire the imagination of a sulking public in some such way will have a wonderful job waiting for him...or her.

Neena Vyas's rancid reporting

Neena Vyas is evidently frothing at her mouth over the Ayodhya issue. She is letting out all the bile in her stomach through some acidic articles on BJP by freely mixing news with rancour.

In the below articles on Ayodhya, it is hard to distinguish where the news ends and her personal opinions begin. She takes it up as her personal agenda to discredit BJP's statements. So instead of reading BJP's press release, we end up reading Neena Vyas's personal opinion on BJP's statement. Contrast this with how Brinda Karat's views are reported.

The Hindu : Front Page : We now have answer for critics of Ram temple plank, says BJP

The Hindu : News / National : Advani sidelined on Ram temple issue
Hat tip to XR.

Romila Thapar questions ASI's professional expertise

Our eminent historian is quickly off the blocks. Romila Thapar questions the professional expertise of Archaeological Survey of India. On what basis? Heck, how dare you question the "eminent historian"!
It is immaterial that Romila Thapar became an "eminent historian" of early India without having any knowledge of Sanskrit. Her understanding of ancient India, its language, history and culture is based not on primary sources but interpretations and translations. Talk of professional expertise, pot, kettle, black...
The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The verdict on Ayodhya: a historian's perspective

The excavations of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and its readings have been fully accepted even though these have been strongly disputed by other archaeologists and historians. Since this is a matter of professional expertise ...