Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Can Hindus Self-Govern Competitively? Lessons from the Nithyananda Scandal « Indian Realist

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    • By Rajiv Malhotra
    • The Christian Church has the longest continuous history of governance, with a tremendous track record of protecting its interests under all circumstances. Its history of corporate governance is not only remarkable amongst religions but also when compared to commercial multinational corporations. Most people are unaware that it was the Church that first invented many of the corporate management procedures, norms and laws in use today by multinational corporations.
    • The Church has learned a great deal through trial and error and has thus become robust. The proof lies in its ability to survive even after hundreds of scandals in its history. Its latest scandals involve many thousands of minor children who were sexually abused by hundreds of priests in dozens of scattered locations across the world. This went on for a period of many decades and was systematically covered up by its leadership at the highest levels. Yet the resilience of the Church in protecting itself is amazing.
    • The closest Hindu body to the World Council of Churches is the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, and it was disinterested in playing such a role. The role is critical it felt, but HDAS was not in a position to perform it.
    • In the absence of competent leadership that can build teamwork, Hinduism faces a bleak future in a world filled with civilization clashes.

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The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | Pak, Bangla nationals trying to enrol as citizens: Andhra BJP


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Monarchy can make a comeback, Paras says


Paras Shah

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      Talking to media persons in Birgunj on Wednesday afternoon, Paras, however, said that he has no desire to become king of Nepal. Paras is known for his notorious acts before becoming crown prince.

      He said he is in favour of again declaring Nepal a Hindu nation, as demanded by few organisations.
    • Paras reached Birgunj to inaugurate a newly established eye hospital. Large number of pro-monarchists chanted slogans for restoration of monarchy in the country. nepalnews.com

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Prayer, persuasion to mark renewed Mandir drive - Lucknow - City - The Times of India

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    • Ram Mandir issue rears its head once again, albeit with a high dose of drama. Saffron forces set for a relaunch are eager to hit the road after Congressmen, currently on the roll, park their chariots. However, the parivar has opted for a brand new avatar, that of penitent and polite Munnabhai, to force a change of heart in rivals including MPs and MLAs over long-pending `mandir nirman' in Ayodhya.

      Come August 16, volunteers of Hanumat Shakti Jagran Yatra -- a campaign planned by VHP's Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarta Sammelan at Haridwar early this month, will walk upto MPs and MLAs and request a rethink over the mandir issue. "The combined power of prayer and persuation cannot be undermined and results,'' says central secretary of VHP Purushottam Narain Singh, "could be truly dramatic.''

      "We have instances in past where career politicians like Narasimha Rao abandoned party line to fulfil a commitment dictated by conscience. Moreover, if Parliament could pass legislation for taking over the control of Somnath temple, why can't it clears construction of Ram temple in the Ram Nagri,'' he asked.
    • If the tactic fails, next plan of action entails invoking divine intervention. The Yatra will organise Hanuman Chalisa recital at every khand and shakha. The number of recitals will vary from 11 to 101 depending upon the intensity of the response, a senior prachark told TOI. The recital, he said, would prove to be a major draw and have high degree of public participation. Ninety percent of Hindu adults can recite Hanuman Chalisa and unlike others the recital will last a few minutes, so it will be a sure hit, he said.

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Hanuman goes 3D - dnaindia.com

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    • A new Hindi film Bal Hanuman2, a sequel to its original, has walked into the history books for being India’s first ever 3D Digital animation feature film. Produced and directed by Pankaj Sharma, the film’s target audience is understandably kids and youngsters. It narrates the adventurous child hood antics of Lord Hanuman and shows him as the protector of goodness as he fights all evils.

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BBC Hindi - भारत - कुंभ को गिनीज बुक में लाने की कोशिश

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    • शालिनी जोशी

      देहरादून से, बीबीसी हिंदी डॉट कॉम के लिए

    • शालिनी जोशी

    • केंद्र सरकार ने इसे गिनीज बुक ऑफ़ वर्ल्ड रेकॉर्ड्स में शामिल करने का प्रस्ताव किया है.
    • जहां तक उत्तराखंड की सरकार की बात है वो अपने आयोजन और व्यवस्था से इतनी अभिभूत है कि मुख्यमंत्री रमेश पोखरियाल निशंक ने अपनी पीठ थपथपाते हुए कुंभ के लिए नोबेल पुरस्कार का दावा कर दिया.

      अपने चर्चित बयान में उन्होंने कहा, "अगर अमरीका के राष्ट्रपति ओबामा को नोबेल मिल सकता है तो कुंभ को क्यों नहीं"?




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The Pakistani Third Reich | FrontPage Magazine

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    • The real question left unanswered is why Pakistan is making more nukes than it needs, and for what purpose. An insidious picture emerges from analyzing Pakistan’s theological focus and the likely funding source(s) behind its nuclear armament program.

      In a recent Frontpage Magazine piece titled “Is Wilders Wrong About Islam?” I explained how jihad (holy war) waged on unbelievers forms the dominant thrust of the Koran and Muhammad’s biography. This theological basis continues to inspire modern constructs of jihad. Pakistan’s broad-based commitment to jihad is reflected in the contents of its school syllabus. The motto of the Pakistani army is “faith, piety and jihad in the path of Allah.” In the 1980s Brigadier S.K. Malik of the Pakistani army produced an authoritative military manual on jihad called The Quranic Concept of War. It is a required reading of Pakistan’s military officers.

      Malik writes: “the Holy Prophet’s operations …are an integral and inseparable part of the divine message revealed to us in the Holy Quran… The war he planned and carried out was total to the infinite degree. It was waged on all fronts: internal and external, political and diplomatic, spiritual and psychological, economic and military… The Quranic military strategy thus enjoins us to prepare ourselves for war to the utmost in order to strike terror into the heart of the enemy, known or hidden… Terror struck into the hearts of the enemy is not only a means; it is the end in itself.”

    • In other words, Pakistan has become a modern Third Reich, armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons and sophisticated delivery systems.
    • The main nation widely thought to be behind the bankrolling of Pakistan’s nuclear buildup is Saudi Arabia, from where most hijackers who carried out the 9/11 attacks originated. Thanks to this symbiotic relationship, Saudi Arabia may already have nukes. As well, the fellow Sunni sheikdoms of the Middle East feel threatened that a nuclear Shiite Iran may get access to the cash-starved and ideologically inclined Pakistan’s plutonium-based nukes. All of this points to a higher risk of nuclear terrorism involving the nukes.
    • Pakistan’s nuclear bombs are “the property of a whole ummah [worldwide Muslim community],”
    • Trend lines on nuclear know-how of jihadist sponsors and that of global jihad suggest that the following worst case scenario can no longer be ignored: Nuclear strikes on the continental United States within the next decade.
    • Moorthy Muthuswamy is a U.S.-based nuclear physicist and author of the recent book Defeating Political Islam: The New Cold War.

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Between saffron and green, Hyderabad sees red flags -  National News – News – MSN India

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    • Hyderabad:
    • It’s been almost a month since Andhra Pradesh government moved to clear the city of all religious flags and buntings that were at the root of the recent communal riots which hit the state capital.
    • "Placing those flags was unnecessary and an act of disrespect towards the religion. It is for the first time in Hyderabad that thousands of green flags were found tied all around the streets. It is an insult because the flags had photographs of Mecca and Madina and when the they fell on the street, people walked over them.

      "Even if they were tied for the festival, they should have been removed after the celebrations. It was not done and this encouraged the other community to put up saffron flags ahead of Ram Navami. The saffron flags were put up after removing the green flags and that is when the competition started," says a religious leader, Hamid Mohammed Khan.

    • The presence of flags has slowly become an indicator as to who 'controls' a particular lane or area and this is causing tension between the two communities. After police and religious leaders intervened, the flags tied on government buildings were taken off, but they remain in other places.

      Lateef Mohammed Khan, Secretary of Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee, says since the Muslims insisted that the flags put up for Eid Milad-un-Nabi will remain there till the next festival, the Hindu groups retaliated by wanting to keep their flags till Hanuman Jayanti. "Since then this is going on and all the main roads, streets and lanes are covered with flags," he says.

    • "None of the local people or even the businessmen has the kind of money spent on flags. Elements on both sides probably received enormous funds from those who wanted to start this trouble. The Muslims even organised biryani dawats on the main roads and it was free for all. Where did the money come from?" a source asks.

      The areas which witnessed riots and where the flag contest is still going on have a strong presence of the MIM, Hindu Vahini and the RSS. Though the overall population of Hindus is 30 per cent and Muslims 70 per cent in the old city areas, there are many pockets where the population is in balance.

    • Source: Indian Express
Between saffron and green, Hyderabad sees red flags
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