Wednesday, June 17, 2009

‘BJP can’t be a party of Hindu right. Then it will not succeed. But it can be a party of Indian (centre) right, which it should be’


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Organiser - Content

  • Organiser - Content

  • http://www.diigo.com/06ai2

    tags: no_tag

    • The said textbook which opens with the chapter entitled What, Where, How and When carries the photograph of a Muslim girl (page-1) which has no connection to a book of history. The last chapter superscribed Buildings, Paintings And Books gives a summary description about Lord Ram and Sita without their pictures which a book of history for children is expected to carry for various reasons. Lord Ram and Sita were not ordinary mortals, but great historical personages whom millions of Hindus and others worship even today as incarnations of God. The NCERT writers have introduced them to our children merely as a prince and his wife respectively (page 129).
    • the NCERT’s so-called historians tell them that “Rama” (Mark the mistake in the name) was “a Prince of Kosala, who was sent into exile.”
    • The textbook in question also contains incorrect and misleading statements about Hindu scriptures. It has been written “Like the Mahabharata, this (the Ramayana) was an old story that was now written down”. (page 129)
    • It is also important to note that while writing about Islam which is in no way related to India’s past, the NCERT writers have expressed the view that it “laid stress on the equality and unity of all before Allah” (page 120)—a statement to which the events of the world history till date do'not testify. The NCERT writers did not forget to use the words “the sacred book of Islam” for the Kur’an (page 120) which is not free from objectionable verses, but they avoided to use the same expression i.e. “the sacred books of Hinduism” before “the Ramayana” and the Mahabharata”.

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Hindu man: School forced son to eat beef - UPI.com

  • Hindu man: School forced son to eat beef - UPI.com

    tags: no_tag

    • Ashish Gandhi has filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department alleging religious discrimination, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Sunday. Gandhi, who says a school employee force-fed the taco to his son, called it an "intentional act of religious bigotry" by the Academy of World Languages.
    • The academy offers classes in English as a second language as well as a large number of other languages. Gandhi claims the school denied his son the services normally given non-English-speaking students.

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100 Bajrang Dal activists held during Surat shutdown

  • 100 Bajrang Dal activists held during Surat shutdown

    tags: no_tag

    • Police arrested nearly 100 activists of the right wing Bajrang Dal as they went around this Gujarat city trying to enforce a day-long shutdown protesting the gang rape of a teenager by three men. All business establishments remained open despite the shutdown call, police said Monday.

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BJP strategist all praise for Hindu-Catholic dialogue


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Shankaracharya slams politicians for K'mal situation' - Bhubaneswar - Cities - The Times of India

  • Shankaracharya slams politicians for K'mal situation' - Bhubaneswar - Cities - The Times of India

    tags: no_tag

    • BHUBANESWAR: Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati here on Monday strongly opposed proselytization and blamed "vote bank politics", practiced by parties for it. He expressed his dissatisfaction over the state government's funding for reconstruction of churches in Kandhamal
    • BHUBANESWAR: Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati here on Monday strongly opposed proselytization and blamed "vote bank politics", practiced by parties for it. He expressed his dissatisfaction over the state government's funding for reconstruction of churches in Kandhamal.
    • described religious conversion as a "kalank (mark) on the society"

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Gujarat police tapping phones, alleges VHP - India - The Times of India

'Indians Are Privately Smart And Publicly Dumb'

  • 'Indians Are Privately Smart And Publicly Dumb'

  • http://www.diigo.com/06agu

    tags: India, Intellactual

    • 12 canons of "Indian-ness."
    • "low trustworthiness."
    • Privately, Indians are reasonably smart - in fact, we are as smart as anybody else - but publicly we are dumb.
    • The prisoner's dilemma
    • Our situation is such that we believe that if we do not cooperate, we benefit more. We put ourselves in the other person's situation: We ask, if he does not cooperate, why should I? If he cooperates, it may still be in my interest not to cooperate, because I benefit by not cooperating. 
    • The prisoner's dilemma also explains why Indian companies often fail in joint ventures. We tend to be over-argumentative and often look out for our own narrow advantage rather than trying to make the venture succeed.
    • If I have to see two moves ahead, I may do just fine, but if I have to see 10 moves ahead, I may not. Public interest is like seeing 10 moves ahead, while seeking out private advantage is like seeing two moves ahead.
    • "tit-for-tat" strategy.
    • Essentially, I keep cooperating in every interaction until you defect. In the following interaction, I too defect, remembering our last interaction. Now it is up to you to decide whether to cooperate or not. If you cooperate, I go back to cooperating as well.
    • "massive retaliator,"
    • The tit-for-tat strategy does not have a long memory. It is forgiving. It is a good strategy in the sense that it is never the first one to defect, but at the same time it retaliates against defectors.
    • I show in the book that the tit-for-tat strategy never wins against any one individual.
    • and so I call this the "gentleman's strategy."
    • random-defect strategy
    • the example of the TVS Group
    • When the war ended, however, the traders who had profiteered from the shortage went out of business one after another; today no one remembers those companies. But the TVS Group survived, and it continues to be recognized as a valuable company.
    • better corporate governance,
    • self-regulation is molded by regulation
    • As I said above, we are like lightning chess players and a little too quick to see where our immediate self-interest lies. When we think we can get away with something and the probability of getting caught is low, we tend to do whatever we want to do.
    • I realized that the Gita has a lot of things which help resolve the prisoner's dilemma readily. For example, if you do your dharma [duty] towards humanity, the level of cooperation could be much higher.
    • As India's economy improves and education spreads, I hope defection will be replaced by cooperation.

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Organiser - Lost Love Always Hurts

  • Organiser - Content

  • Lost Love Always Hurts

  • http://www.diigo.com/06afc

    tags: Hinduism, BJP, Election2009

    • By Dr Pravin Togadia
    • Myth 1: We lost because of Hindutva identity. Muslims voted against us due to this.

      Truth: Muslim was never a core constituency. It was Hindu. Everyone accepts and understands electoral growth. But if this growth is at the cost of the core or even anti-core, then it is called cannibalisation.
    • The Hindu core constituency got hurt this way post-1998 resulting into 2004 debacle. Excuse given was power to be retained with allies at the cost of core constituency's interests and thereby alienating the core constituency. The Hindu does not react fast. He waits, gives more time for improvement and watches the behaviour and actions. The Hindu core constituency again waited even after 2004.
    • This does not mean that this Hindu core constituency would not spring up again together. It would. But for a truly caring party.
    • Wherever this Hindu core constituency felt that warmth, it voted. People who were blamed for defeat, have won like Yogi Adityanath, Varun Gandhi, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and many others who stuck to the core constituency have won.
    • Myth 2: 40 per cent population is youth. Three crore youth voters are added. Youth have great aspirations. Youth do not like Hindutva.
    • From Varanasi to Bengaluru and from Indore to Lucknow, is there no youth? If they disliked Hindutva then in these places they would not have voted for some people who cared for the Hindu core constituency.
    • Myth 3: People want development and governance. People do not want Hindutva.
    • Responsibility of any party that grows because of core constituency is not limited only to arouse these human beings’ emotions but also to give them all benefits of development and governance that come out of power.
    • This is not development or governance at number 1; this is an immature hurry to get power at any cost. Hindu core constituency realised this and left this party.
    • Myth 4: If any party has to come to power, it has to compromise on its ideology and tone it down to accommodate the allies.
    • The core constituency may be just 10 per cent of the total voters but if even five per cent of it sees through the betrayal to the core, then this vote share makes or breaks the chances of winning. It is a paradox!
    • Myth 5: It worked in the American elections, it must work in India too.
    • India and Hindu core constituency do not get enamoured by an individual for long and especially if an individual is projected, the Hindu core constituency still examines his/her behaviour and actions on the parameters of core constituency’s core interests.
    • Looking at the current scene, there is surely a scope for any party that is willing to truly address and fulfill the emotions, intellect and aspirations of the Hindu core constituency. If the old party does not want to follow it and disown this constituency, then it is that party’s own choice. But the Hindu core constituency has already been decisive and if not addressed with the same old love and care then surely there is a vacuum for any new or other party to grow.

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