This Months Article

Starting: Sat July 1, 2000
Ending: Mon July 31, 2000

Messages: 99

• Conversion - cause of all trouble
• A.R. Kanangi - Afternoon Despatch & Courier - July 1, 2000
>>> After a meeting with prime minister A.B. Vajpayee, Pope John Paul II told a gathering at St. Peter's square that in Indonesia some 4000 Christians and Muslims have been killed in communal violence. ......
 
• Art 370 Meant To Be Eroded
• Virendra Parekh - The Weekend Observer - July 1, 2000
>>> Farooq Abdullah is right in referring to the erosion of the State's special status in the past. What he forgets (or, would have us forget) is that that status was meant to be eroded away. ......
 
• ...While displaced Hindus seek their share of Kashmir
• Aasha Khosa - The Indian Express - July 1, 2000
>>> The displaced community of Kashmiri Hindus have stepped up their campaign to secure `homeland' within the Valley following the Farooq Abdullah Government's demand for greater political autonomy to the state. ......
 
• Autonomy -- `Neglected' Leh says it wants out...
• Anuradha Nagaraj - The Indian Express - July 1, 2000
>>> The tourists are in town but the marketplaces are not bustling.  For the last three weeks, frequent strikes and bandhs have brought life in Leh to a standstill.  The shutters are down and the Buddhists are out on the streets.  Led by the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), protests against the recently cleared Autonomy Bill in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly are growing louder and the demand for the status of a Union territory stronger. ......
 
• 'Illegal migration also responsible'
• The Assam Tribune - July 1, 2000
>>> The need to include the illegal immigration from across the border as one of the factors of the burgeoning population of the country was underlined here today at a conference of editors and media experts on the national population policy. ......
 
• Anti-RSSism
• The Organiser - July 2, 2000
>>> A few diehard leftists and fellow travellers masquerading as journalists have positioned themselves in important dailies and periodicals and are running a slander campaign against RSS and other Hindu voluntary associations. The vilifying campaign against the RSS being carried out in the columns of a Delhi daily owned by Birlas has crossed all limits. Its pages are now freely available for slandering RSS, its leaders and fraternal organisations on various pretexts. Half facts and even non facts are treated without verification or counter check and statements and news are presented out of context to find fault with the RSS and its leadership. ......
 
• Mahatma Gandhi and Makers of Constitution on Conversion
• Ram Gopal -The Organiser - July 2, 2000
>>> In India, Christian missionaries of many shades had been at work for centuries, but they made major strides during the British Raj. However during the last ten -years of Independent India, their number, their financial resources (mostly from' abroad), their propaganda material, their strategies, and their tirade against Hindu relation and Hindu deities have multiplied in a phenomenal Way, with political overtones. ......
 
• Rushing where angels fear to tread
• Sandhya Jain - The Pioneer - July 4, 2000
>>> Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee's decision to incorporate a meeting with Pope John Paul II into the itinerary of his European Union summit last week was hasty, unnecessary, and unwise, and can be expected to have a long-term deleterious impact on this country's sovereignty and national interests.  What is more, it is unlikely to improve his government's standing among the minority communities at home as they are opposed to his regime on ideological grounds. ......
 
• Harkat's bid to set up base in Bhutan
• The Assam Tribune - July 4, 2000
>>> Fundamentalist militant outfit Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen (HUM) is trying to establish base in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan with the help of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).  Police sources here informed that the prime objective of the Harkat's bid to set up base in Bhutan is to arrange for training to its near recruits from Assam and other north-eastern States. ......
 
• Linking Hindu almanac to Western calendar
• M.Madan Mohan - The Hindu - July 4, 2000
>>> A unique attempt to bring about a compromise between the Indian "panchanga" and the Western calendar has been made by Pandit Vadirajacharya of Bijapur, now settled in Bhadravati in Shimoga District. He has prepared on a single sheet the calendar for 197 crores of years of the life of the earth, which devout Hindus believe, has passed through six "Manvantaras" and is currently going through 28th Kaliyuga of the seventh "Manvantara"! ......
 
• India cannot enter into dialogue with Gen.  Musharraf: Panja
• PTI - Indian Express - July 4, 2000
>>> India cannot enter into a dialogue with Pakistan's military leader general pervez musharraf whose hands are 'blood-stained', union minister of state for external affairs, Ajit Panja, said on Monday.  'How could we shake hands with Musharraf whose hands are blood-stained', Panja responded to reporters when asked to react on the reported offer of talks with India by general Musharraf. ......
 
• Text of Cabinet decision on J&K autonomy resolution
• The Hindu - July 4, 2000
>>> The following is the Union Cabinet's response to the resolution adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly on June 26, urging that the pre-1953 constitutional position in the State be restored: The Government is committed to the promotion of federal harmony by ensuring a partnership of the Centre and the States as laid down in the National Agenda for Governance of the National Democratic Alliance. ......
 
• Swami Vivekananda and the Buddhism
• Edmund Weber - Journal of Religious Culture - Journal für Religionskultur
>>> Modern Hindus use the term 'Hindu' in a positive sense.  It is no more a derogatory appellation used by foreigners and oppressors, but a powerful self chosen name. ......
 
• India calls for cooperation on terrorism
• Danna Harman - The Jerusalem Post - July 3, 2000
>>> Visiting Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh suggested yesterday that Israel and India cooperate in the battle against terror. ......
 
• India is as much a victim of communalism as of secularism
• Tavleen Singh - India Today - July 3, 2000
>>> At a time when Christian churches and priests are victims of attacks that appear to be the work of Hindutva's self-appointed guardians it may be the wrong moment to say anything that might sound like a defence of Hindutva. However, since there is almost never a good moment to defend an idea that even most Hindus are suspicious of, I am going to go ahead. If Hindutva has a dark, repulsive side so does our version of secularism and unless we recognise this, real communal harmony in India will be impossible. ......
 
• A nation divided by faith
• The Statesman - July 6, 2000
>>> Religion unites as much as it divides people. It is also a dangerous political instrument, pitting followers of one faith against those of another, with both sides willing to die to defend what they believe to be the only truth. This is what's happening in Indonesia, writes LELA E MADJIAH ......
 
• Communists intolerant, says PM
• The Hindu - July 7, 2000
>>> The Prime Minister, Mr.  A.B.  Vajpayee, today chided the ruling communists in West Bengal for staying away from the birth centenary function of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, an early architect of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. ......
 
• Remembering the Emergency
• Rajeev Srinivasan - Rediff on Net - July 7, 2000
>>> When I think of the Emergency, the picture that comes to mind most forcefully is the image, in the beautiful and heart-breaking Malayalam film Piravi, of an old man searching for his son.  Futilely, because the son had been tortured and murdered as a political prisoner, a 'disappeared' person.  It was based on the real-life story of Rajan, an engineering student. ......
 
• Pallone for tough measures against China
• Sridhar Krishnaswami - The Hindu - July 7, 2000
>>> Arguing that Pakistan and China had teamed up to  surround India and create an alarming potential for instability in Asia, the  Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, Mr. Frank Pallone, has urged the  Clinton administration to impose sanctions on Beijing for its assistance to  the Pakistani missile development programme. ......
• CPI-M the most uncivilised party: BJP
• The Hindustan Times - July 7, 2000
>>> THE BJP today described the CPI (M) as "most uncivilised" party - a term often used by Jyoti Basu to describe it - for boycotting the birth centenary celebration of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee in Calcutta yesterday. ......
 
• Faith in conversion
• Balbir Punj - The Pioneer - July 8, 2000
>>> How come had the Church come into conflict with several respected Indians leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi? And why is that this conflict still remains unresolved? ......
 
• Cong wants apology from PM, Advani for statements over Christian attacks
• The Indian Express - July 8, 2000
>>> The state Congress yesterday demanded an apology from Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee and Union Home Minster L K Advani for their "conflicting statements on the attacks on the Christian community". ......
 
• Temples in the Grand Canyon
• Kuhu Singh - The Indian Express - July 9, 2000
>>> One of the most spectacular of nature's wonders, the Grand Canyon of Arizonaand Utah states in the US, has another wonder attached to it: in the form ofIndian (not native American) names bestowed on some of the rigid peaks andpinnacles of the canyon by the early pioneers who discovered the105-miles-long nature's carvings in the earth's belly. ......
 
• No State within State
• The Times of India - July 9, 2000
>>> Arun Shourie looks a bit out of place in Yojna Bhawan; after all it is as editor and investigative journalist that he made his mark.Shourie's ministerial responsibilities have, however, not dimmed his razor-sharp brain or his ability to dissect complex politico-legal matters. He talks to Vidya Subrahmaniam and Rahul Shivshankar on the J&K autonomy resolution. ......
 
• Farooq's theatrics
• T.V.R. Shenoy - The Indian Express - July 6, 2000
>>> The Union Cabinet has rejected the National Conference's demand for `autonomy' in Jammu and Kashmir. That may be just as well the proposed terms were so unrestrained as to be unacceptable. Removing the state from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, to name but two of the requests, go well beyond any reasonable definition of autonomy. ......
 
• Sorabjee hurt Hindu feelings: Togadiya
• www.indiaexpress.com - July 8, 2000
>>> Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) International General Secretary Pravin Togadiya has described as 'shocking' Attorney General Soli Sorabjee's statement that ''hindu fundamentalists should be sent to a lunatic asylum." ......
 
• T&T no Fiji : Indian High Commissioner spars with local activists over reasons for coup
• Rory Rostant - Trinidad Guardian - July 10, 2000
>>> INDIAN High Commissioner Professor Parimal Kumar Das clashed with Indo-Trinidadians at a panel  discussion on  Saturday over  their belief  that Trinidad  and  Tobago  was  facing  a  racial  crisis like Fiji. ......
 
• Christians seek expulsion of Joseph from minority panel
• Rediff on Net - July 11, 2000
>>> The differences between the National Minorities Commission and the Christian organisations have increased further with a section of the community seeking the replacement of Christian member John Joseph and reconstitution of the panel. ......
 
• Church leaders ask govt to desist from questioning conversions
• The Indian Express - July 11, 2000
>>> National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) today asked the government to desist from raking up the issue of conversions and demanded ban on organisations with overt communal leanings and involved in hate campaigns,reports PTI. ......
 
• Remove Vilasrao, Muslim leaders tell Sonia
• Dharmesh Thakkar - The Asian Age - July 11, 2000
>>> Pressure is mounting on chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh from the Congress high command to appease the minorities in Maharashtra. Muslim leaders and ulemas had raised concern at the rising number of attacks on minorities in the state. ......
 
• Mookerji's solution for Kashmir
• Bal Raj Madhok - The Indian Express - July 12, 2000
>>> Shyama Prasad Mookerji, whose birth centenary celebrations began from July 6, occupies a unique place among the national leaders who played a notable role during the crucial years that preceded and followed the Partition. ......
 
• Liberating Hyderabad is a priority for Lashkar-e-Toiba
• George Iype - Rediff on Net - July 14, 2000
>>> For the last five years, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has been working to make Hyderabad the Silicon Valley of Asia.  And for the last eight years, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, the most deadly agency that aids militancy in South Asia, has been spreading that side. ......
• The unwelcome guests
• George Iype - Rediff on Net - July 14, 2000
>>> Recently, the central government had sent a note to the home departments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to furnish details on how many Pakistanis have overstayed or disappeared. ......
 
• J&K-bound terrorists are trained in use of napalm
• B L Kak - www.dailyexcelsior.com - July 14, 2000
>>> The authorities have just received a highly sensational report about the on-going exercise at Peshawar in Pakistan aimed at imparting training to groups of Kashmir-bound terrorists in use of napalm. ......
 
• Pak too urged to take action - US considering branding LeT as terrorist group
• www.dailyexcelsior.com - July 14, 2000
>>> The United States has said it is "actively considering" branding Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, which is active in Kashmir, as a terrorist organisation. ......
 
• The army of faithful
• George Iype - Rediff on Net - July 14, 2000
>>> The most extreme militant outfit that has spread its tentacles from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is the Lashkar-e-Toiba or "the army of faithful." The LeT has trained hundreds of Muslim youths in Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The military wing of Pakistan's religious university, the Dawat-ul-Irshad, it was founded by Professor Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. ......
 
• Pro-India US lobby spikes aid cut Bill
• Agencies - The Pioneer - July 15, 2000
>>> Congressinal supporters of India appeared jubilant on Thursday, after having defeated in the US House of Representatives earlier in the day an attempt to cut down by 25 per cent American development aid to India in the coming fiscal year in protest against its "poor" human rights record, particularly in Kashmir. ......
 
• ISI twin plan: Attack Christians, defame Hindu
• Bharti Jain - The Economic Times - July 15, 2000
>>> DEENDAR Anjuman, the organisation that masterminded the recent blasts in the churches of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa and distributed pamphlets designed to turn the attention to Hindu outfits, is headed by a Pakistani national. ......
 
• How can I Train Myself for Jihad
• Azzam - Jihad in Chechnya, Facts and Figures
>>> "And prepare against them all you can of power, including steeds of war to terrorise the enemies of Allah and others besides whom you may not know, but Allah does know.  And whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah shall be repaid unto you, and you shall not be treated unjustly." [Quran 8:60] ......
 
• Troubles arise for Pakistan's leader
• Kathy Gannon - Associated Press - July 13, 2000
>>> Nine months after he took power in Pakistan, the honeymoon seems to be over for the military leader, General Pervez Musharraf. ......
 
• Saudis worst of Christian persecutors - Ministry releases survey list with Afghanistan, Sudan, China close behind
• Dan Wooding - WorldNetDaily.com - July 14, 1999
>>> Despite the fact that Filipino Christian prisoner Rene Camahort was released from a Saudi jail in May, the Islamic nation of Saudi Arabia still has the world's worst record of persecuting Christians, says Open Doors with Brother Andrew. ......
 
• Pakistan's earthen-pot faith in itself
• Khaled Ahmed - The Pioneer - July 15, 2000
>>> My favourite Sunday reading is Dr Farrukh Saleem's column in The News.  He writes with great terseness and referential authority.  His latest essay was titled, `What kind of Pakistan do we want?', in which he wrote: We cannot fight holy wars around the world and expect peace within our boundaries.  We cannot think of nuclear mobile launchers and social development both at the same time.  We have got to pick one or the other.  We could either have a chaotic, Talibanised Pakistan or an orderly, integrated, progressive nation-state.  It all boils down to what kind of Pakistan we really want. ......
 
• Struggling for peace?
• Balbir K Punj - The Pioneer - July 15, 2000
>>> `You in the West are allergic to the term `jihad' but it is a tolerant concept,' he says in defence of the existence of some 10,000 madarsas (Islamic religious schools) in his country training young minds for religious wars.  Jeffrey Goldberg, who interviewed the General for The New York Times magazine recently, says that the madarsas are factories of jihad; that there is at any time a stock of one million trainees, jihadis, in these schools.  That these jihadis are willing to die at the call of their faith, in its battle with any other faith, is now an accepted fact. ......
 
• Antulay's plea for amending constitution
• BJP Today - July 16-31, 2000
>>> Even when the Congress Party has decided to boycott the National Commission to Review the working of the Constitution, it will be educative for them to recall what the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, A.R. Antulay had said on the present constitution while speaking on the economic resolution at the AICC meeting in New Delhi on December 7, 1980. ......
 
• The RSS Annual Meet - Cautions the nation about Kashmir autonomy demand, and Christians' anti-Hindu tirade
• Organiser - July 16, 2000
>>> "In the present circumstances, this meeting of the RSS is of great importance at both the national and international level," said Jain Muni Acharya Lokprakash Lokesh, while inaugurating the Adkhil Bharatiya Karyakarini Mandal (ABKM) of the RSS recently at Koba, Ahmedabad.  The new Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Shri K.S.  Sudarshan and the General Secretary, Shri Mohan Bhagwat graced the occasion with their presence.  The meeting discussed the present situation and problems facing the country and also planned future programmes for the organization in the coming year. ......
 
• After Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs - Mercenaries now target Shias
• Anil Narendra - Organiser - July 16, 2000
>>> When the Sikhs of Chattisinghpura got massacred the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Abdullah Bukhari said that it was the work of the Indian intelligence agencies to defame the Muslims.  Now that the Shia's in Kashmir have been killed one should ask the Imam, who do you think is responsible this time? In all probabilities  Bukhari will repeat his earlier statement as it suits him well.  Without going into the depth of the matter he is looking for cheap publicity stunts to boost up his completely finished credibility.  However, the facts speak for themselves.  In its ongoing proxy war against India ISI has recently added new dimensions. ......
 
• Conversion-cause of all trouble Prime Minister Vajpayee must have told the Pope: Stop it
• A.R. Kanangi - Organiser - July 16, 2000
>>> After a meeting with prime minister A.B. Vajpayee, Pope John Paul II told a gathering at St.  Peter's square that in Indonesia some 4,000 Christians and Muslims have been killed in communal  violence. The Pope referred to Christian attacks in India and said reports from India were "alarming  after many attacks were made against Christians". ......
 
• Kashmir - An indivisible part of India
• Organiser - July 16, 2000
>>> Justice Mohd Carimbhai Chagla was a man of many parts.  A jurist, judge, educationist, diplomat, central cabinet minister and statesman-he excelled in every field through sheer brilliance and honesty.  This tallest personality of our times belonged to that rare breed of Indian Muslim intellectuals, who were sincerely committed to secular integration of Muslims in Indian mainstream and despised cultural separatism.  As a secular Indian, he felt Kashmir's future lay in secular integration and he was opposed to Article 370. ......
 
• Communists-the closest brothers of fascists
• Shankar Sharan - Organiser - July 16, 2000
>>> According to our left-wing intellectuals India has been reeling under fascism for the last two years.  Such intellectuals number a few but hyper-activity projects them as a multitude.  Mostly occupying cosy quarters in the capital they never tire of branding the Government 'fascist'.  So what if the Government is duly elected, working under a democratic and independent judiciary et al.  In spite of everything and anything the regime is fascist, and that is that-in a typical Leninist fashion the left intellectuals declare! ......
 
• Back to square one
• Varsha Bhosle - Rediff on Net - July 17, 2000
>>> In an interview to Outlook, George Fernandes had apparently lashed out at the RSS with, "One can't claim to be a patriot by merely declaring he is one, or by chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram, or by saluting the national flag and singing the national anthem." It seemed out of character to me... Now, Tarun Vijay, editor of the RSS's Panchajanya, says the statements attributed to George weren't made by him at all, and that George had assured him that this was the result of certain elements in the media who were deliberately trying to create a rift among the allies. ......
 
• Must Kashmir weep and wail?
• Vijay Dhar - The Deccan Herald - July 17, 2000
>>> I have been amazed and somewhat shocked at the recent statements made on the proposed Kashmir autonomy by political leaders in the State and other parts of the country. ......
 
• 'Lashkar-e-Toiba behind blasts in Marathwada'
• Rediff on Net - July 20, 2000
>>> The Maharashtra government said Thursday the militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba was behind recent bomb blasts in Marathwada and affirmed that it was maintaining a strict vigil and will deal firmly with any eventuality. ......
 
• Fundie Alert
• Varsha Bhosle - Rediff on Net - July 20, 2000
>>> On July 14, Sabrang, the "NGO" aligned with Communalism Combat, rang an alarm to instigate a campaign in order to influence the United Nations Economic and Social Council to reject the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's application seeking consultative status as an NGO: "The VHP -- best known for its role in the mobilisation for, and the actual demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992, and for its hate campaign against Christians in the last two years -- has applied to the UN Economic and Social Council for ECOSOC consultative status as an NGO...  With the application of the VHP currently deferred, thanks to an intervention by Pakistan, there is time for individuals and groups to flood the UN with strong protests against such status being accorded any time in future to the VHP."  ......
 
• Pakistan declines to check Islamists
• Ben Barber - The Washington Times - July 20, 2000
>>> Muslim militants scored a victory this week when military ruler Gen.  Pervez Musharraf backed off from public threats to rein in Islamists and instead granted them interviews, photo opportunities and new privileges. ......
 
• J & K: Centre Must Set The Agenda
• Virendra Parekh - The Observer of Business and Politics - July 20, 2000
>>> The meeting between Vajpayee and Farooq Abdullah was not expected to produce any dramatic decision. It was essentially a public relations exercise intended to show both of them in a better light, after the Union Cabinet's swift and unequivocal rejection of the autonomy resolution passed by the J&K assembly. Having demonstrated his firmness, Vajpayee was keen to show that the Centre had not slammed the door on the so-called aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Having proved his nuisance value, Farooq Abdullah wanted to show to the Centre that he was willing to be 'reasonable'; and to the people of his state that he still carried some weight in Delhi and needed to be placated by the government. ......
 
• The new fatwa
• Editorial - The Pioneer - July 21, 2000
>>> That the forces of Islamic fundamentalism are gathering strength in Pakistan is illustrated by the ultimatum issued on Wednesday by the Islamic United Revolutionary Front (IURF). ......
 
• Take a hawkish stand
• Anil Narendra - The Pioneer - July 21, 2000
>>> The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, who had earlier led the chorus condemning the overthrow of the elected government in Pakistan of Mr Nawaz Sharif, and imposed the ban in the light of the coup d'etat, has been made to eat crow.  This is because the Labour Government believes that its decision, coming ten months after the coup, is in line with its 'ethical' foreign policy. ......
 
• The ISI became active in the South after the BJP started winning elections there
• George Iype - Rediff on Net - July 21, 2000
>>> Early in May, the central government asked the home departments of all states to submit details of Inter-Services Intelligence operations.  The first responses were from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. ......
 
• Advantage India
• Balbir K Punj - The Pioneer - July 22, 2000
>>> In a mood saturated with self-flagellation, it is not surprising that the country has missed the significance of the India-European Union summit held in Lisbon, Portugal, recently. ......
 
• 10 thousand Muslims ready for Jehad, says Masood Azhar
• Daily Excelsior - July 22, 2000
>>> Thousands of Pakistanis called for holy war against India here today as extremist leader Maulana Masood Azhar dramatically ended months of silence after his release from an Indian jail. ......
 
• The General's Labyrinth
• Prem Shankar Jha - Outlook - July 24, 2000
>>> As the weeks after Clinton's visit lengthen into months, New Delhi is becoming increasingly puzzled by the enigma of Pakistan Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf's behaviour.  On the one hand, he repeats from every podium his invitation to India to resume the stalled dialogue on Kashmir.  But on the other, he does not seem prepared to take even the first quiet steps to meet India's minimum condition for a dialogue, to wit that Pakistan at least reduce sharply, if it cannot stop, the infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir. ......
 
• RSS Missive to Vajpayee - Christian propaganda
• News(PTI) - Free Press Journal - July 24, 2000
>>> In a counter-offensive, an RSS outfit on Sunday urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to wake up to and curb the "objectionable activities" of certain fundamentalist Christian missionaries in the country including "aggressive harvesting of faith" and "mischievous propaganda" against Hindus and Hindu organisations, reports PTI. ......
 
• RSS Missive to Vajpayee - Christian propaganda
• News(PTI) - Free Press Journal - July 24, 2000
>>> In a counter-offensive, an RSS outfit on Sunday urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to wake up to and curb the "objectionable activities" of certain fundamentalist Christian missionaries in the country including "aggressive harvesting of faith" and "mischievous propaganda" against Hindus and Hindu organisations, reports PTI. ......
 
• Deendar 'cult' had roots in Ramdurg?
• The Hindu - July 24, 2000
>>> This sleepy village with no regular drinking water supply in Ramdurg taluk, nearly 115 km.  from the district headquarters, has shot to fame, though for all the wrong reasons.  The villagers had never thought that the persons behind bomb blasts would be one among them. ......
 
• Dear Readers, V
• Varsha Bhosle - Rediff on Net - July 24, 2000
>>> Whoof! Let alone answer it, if I had to read all the mail in response to Heaven's Gate, I'd have missed the next column.  Guys, thank you very much, and I'm sorry I can't respond to the positive mail individually.  I want to answer criticisms - but not those in the mode of: "And not just read the Panchjanya and write what you want" or "Hindu fundamentalists are blaming Christianity for their insecurity." ......
 
• Has Bhujbal really left the Sena?
• Saisuresh Sivaswamy - Rediff on Net - July 25, 2000
>>> The first round of the eyeball-to-eyeball between the Democratic Front and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra was a no-contest.  Bal Thackeray is the winner by a mile. ......
 
• A reality check on "phoren" federalism
• Arvind Lavakare - Rediff on Net - July 25, 2000
>>> Ooh la la, the cry for more autonomy to Indian states has now come from Khushwant Singh! Yes, from the same social celebrity whose weekly column mostly dwells on books, bards and bosoms with a contributed "joke" as its own bottom. ......
 
• Mahmood Ghaznavi Conference on 28th
• APP - July 25, 2000
>>> International Mahmood Ghaznavi Conference would be held here on July 28 to mark Mahmood Ghaznavi Millennium celebrations. ......
 
• IUML rejects CPI-M offer for local level tie-
• Rediff on Net - July 25, 2000
>>> The Indian Union Muslim League, on Tuesday, rejected an invitation by the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) for a local level tie-up during the forthcoming local bodies elections in Kerala asserting that it would continue to strengthen the Congress-led United Democratic Front. ......
 
• Sewa Bharati Madhya Pradesh
• Vishnu Kumar - Letter - July 25, 2000
>>> Sewa Bharati Madhya Pradesh, with the cooperation of you all, is progressing satisfactorily.  For your kind information, I am giving the present position of a few prominent projects at various stages.  I will be grateful to you if you, besides giving your own attention, also circulate this information amongst your kith and kins, as also in your friend circle. ......
 
• Christian conversions worry Bhutan
• The Asian Age - July 25, 2000
>>> Bhutan's National Assembly has expressed concern at "increasing attempts" at proselytism by Christians and said the development could create resentment within the close-knit society of the Buddhist kingdom. ......
 
• Anti-Climax of A Confrontation
• Virendra Parekh - The Observer of Business & Politics - July 26, 2000
>>> IT was the anti-climax of the decade.  After agonising suspense and visible tension, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray was arrested by the Maharashtra government on Tuesday.  However, the case was dismissed summarily by the magistrate. ......
 
• What about rights of the terrorised?
• M K Dhar - The Pioneer - July 26, 2000
>>> The strong opposition from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani to the proposed Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2000 has enlivened the debate on this controversial piece of legislation and made it difficult for the Government to evolve a consensus on its speedy passage through Parliament. ......
 
• Pak more dangerous than rogue states: Russian daily
• IANS - The Economic Times - July 26, 2000
>>> A LEADING Russian newspaper has called Pakistan more dangerous than so-called rogue states, noting the reluctance of the country's leaders to rule out the use of nuclear arms. ......
 
• Press Release
• Overseas Friends of the BJP (USA) - July 26, 2000
>>> National Executive Committee (NEC) of OFBJP met in Washington D.C. on July 22, 23 2000. The meeting was presided over by OFBJP National President Dr. Dinesh Agrawal. Nine chapters in USA and France were represented. About 30 members of the Executive and special invitees participated in the discussion. ......
 
• 'National security is being seriously threatened'
• Interview - Lt General (retd) S K Sinha - Rediff on Net - July 26, 2000
>>> He resigned as deputy chief of the army staff when the Indira Gandhi government superceded him with General A S Vaidya.  Although embittered, Lieutenant General (retd) Srinivas Kumar Sinha soon forgot about his supersession and immersed himself in academic pursuit.  He went on lecture tours to various universities and defence institutions, sharing his military experience and expertise in national security affairs.  He wrote columns in leading newspapers and analysed developments in South Asia. ......
 
• Govt not responsible for Christian attacks: Sister Nirmala
• PTI - The Indian Express - July 27, 2000
>>> Missionaries of Charity chief Sister Nirmla has said the government could not be held responsible for recent attacks on Christians and their places of worship and described the act as handiwork of people who have no faith in the God, reports PTI. ......
 
• Emergence of a new order?
• M V Kamath - The Free Press Journal - July 27, 2000
>>> It is said that Aadi Sankara, the great exponent of adwaita (788-820 AD) travelled all the way from his village Kaladi in Kerala to the four corners of India to spread the message of monism.  By any account it was a tremendous feat.  He was not moving among an alien people.  Islam had yet to make its entry into India and wherever he went he could only have met those who practised sanaatana dharma.  He set up four maths which have survived to this day, but neither his powerful advocacy of dharma, nor the institutionalising of his faith united India politically. ......
 
• Hindus a Favorite Target (A letter)
• Shyam Tiwari - The Washington Post - July 27, 2000
>>> An act of violence against innocents is an indefensible act and must be condemned.  What I would like to know is if these people engaged in massive breast-beating exercises over each and every incident that happens in India have ever honestly pondered fundamentalists waging war in other countries.  All we hear in such cases are human rights issues against the very people challenging such violent groups. ......
 
• Letter to The Honorable Bill Clinton
• Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh - July 28, 2000
>>> On behalf of the 21 million strong Sikh Nation and over 500,000 Sikhs in the United States, I  urge you to press the issues of human rights and self-determination in South Asia when Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee visits you in September. ......
 
• Malaysian police to keep tabs on mosques
• The Times of India - July 28, 2000
>>> Policemen are being deployed at mosques in Malaysia to monitor sermons and act against those who try to incite people, a senior government official said on Thursday. ......
 
• Setback For Pro-Pakistan Lobby In Us Congress
• Ramesh Chandran - The Times of India - July 28, 2000
>>> The pro-Pakistani lobby in the US Congress, which has been vigorously active prior to the visit of Indian Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, suffered a body blow when an important member of the 20 US lawmakers who had written a letter to President Clinton demanding that India be declared a ``terrorist state''  because of  alleged atrocities  against  Christian,  Muslim  and Sikh minorities withdrew her signature. ......
 
• ISI link to Andhra mass conversions
• R. Balaji - The Asian Age - July 28, 2000
>>> Investi-gations into widespread total conversions in villages near Nuzvid in Krishna district have revealed that about 1,000 Hindu families at "Hujurnagar" village were converted to Islam by Deendar Anjuman, the outfit now under a cloud for alleged subversive activities in South India. ......
 
• VHP stepping up its drive to Hinduise tribal belts of Bihar
• Ashish Sinha - The Hindustan Times - July 29, 2000
>>> A senior VHP functionary of south Bihar has said that the creation of small states like Mizoram and Nagaland in the northeast, as also Kerala and Goa, has made the Hindus there "second-class citizens". ......
 
• A Christian thought
• Balbir K Punj - The Pioneer - July 29, 2000
>>> Does the Church in India believe in good Christian values? Going by the conduct of a section of the Church during the last two years, particularly in the aftermath of recent blasts in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, it appears it does not. ......
 
• One crore illegal Bangladeshis in India : Report
• www.expressindia.com - July 29, 2000
>>> More than one crore Bangladeshi nationals are illegally staying in India and they are in a position to influence electoral outcome in 25 Parliamentary and 125 Assembly constitutencies, according to a TV report,reports PTI. ......
 
• Explosive Expose
• Amarnath K.  Menon - India Today - July 31, 2000
>>> To forensic experts it is a primary lesson: dead men tell tales.  On July 9, they stumbled on to an extraordinary one when a blue Maruti Omni exploded -- killing two of its occupants and injuring a third -- off J.C.  Road in Bangalore, 45 minutes before a bomb blast at the city's St Peter and Paul Church.  The Goa number plate apart, inflammatory pamphlets picked up from the van helped unravel the origin of a series of explosions -- 12 in all -- that had rocked churches, a temple and a mosque across the peninsula from Andhra Pradesh through Karnataka to Goa since May 21. ......
 
• 'Pak Army has taken control of ISI, militants'
• PTI - The Times of India - July 31, 2000
>>> Following Kargil reverses and dwindling local support, the Pakistani Army has taken direct control of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), militant outfits and proxy war to reestablish secessionism in the Valley, an Indian Army official said on Sunday. ......
 
• The Hindu Eunuch
• Varsha Bhosle - Rediff on Net - July 31, 2000
>>> From Marathi-speaking secularists, my statement, "Hindu Dharma raahilaach pahije" (Hinduism must stay alive), drew quite some flak.  Over the last month, the reactions to the call for protection of Hinduism from missionary onslaught ranged from the non-offensive -- "I think Hinduism is like an elephant, slow and lumbering, but ultimately shrugs off the monkeys on its back" -- to the extremely provoking: "You cease to defend my 'Hinduism' -- the worldview of the scriptures, the Upanishads, and the epics -- the friendliness and love towards our fellow human beings regardless of their religion...  Let us not 'semitize' our religion and adopt all the faults of those who have wronged us!" ......
 
• Needed: An 'India first' nuclear policy
• Bharat Karnad - The Pioneer - July 27, 2000
>>> Sir Halford Mackinder, the great geopolitical theorist, once observed that democracies find it hard in peacetime to think strategically. ......
 
• Core issue, my goat
• Ayaz Amir - Dawn - July 28, 2000
>>> Anyone using the term 'core issue' which has been made current and fashionable by a generation of tight-minded diplomats and security experts (God save us from them), deserves to receive a kick on his shins. ......
 
• Influx of drugs from Pak has increased, says NCB official
• The Times of India - July 29, 2000
>>> The ISI seems to be getting more leeway along the border ever since General Musharraf took over the reigns in Pakistan, going by inferences of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Gujarat. ......
 
• Propaganda and the Truth
• S.V. Seshagiri Rao, Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> On May 21, 2000, a crude bomb with a timer exploded near a religious congregation of Christians at Machilipatam in Andhra Pradesh. No one was injured and no property was damaged. A week later police recovered two bombs from churches at Medak and Vikarabad on receiving information from the Church authorities. ......
 
• What's wrong with our educational system?
• M.V. Kamath, Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> There is something basically wrong with our educational system and it is time that our experts gave some attention to it. The recent clash between the Government of Maharashtra and the head of a coaching institution is symptomatic of what is wrong with this system. It is to this that our attention should be focussed. ......
 
• Anjuman Deendar Cult
• N.S. Rajaram, Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> There appears to be some confusion regarding the Anjuman Deendar Siddeshwara Cult that has now been identified as the group mainly responsible for Church bombings in South India. The name Siddeshwara is quintessentially Veerashiava (Lingayat)-a major Shaivite sect in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. ......
 
• Deendar Anjuman's ideology
• Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> The little-known Islamic sect, Deendar Anjuman, has about 150 branches in the three states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra each branch having followers numbering 100 or so. ......
 
• Religion, Linguistics and Separatism in North-East India
• Kunal Ghosh, Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> It is a constant refrain from our political leaders of various hues that religion and politics should be kept apart. Notwithstanding this sloganeering, what we find in real life is quite often the opposite. ......
 
 
• Hate Literature
• Rajendra Chadha, Organiser - July 30, 2000
>>> Look to yourself before you accuse others. Christian missionaries of late are accusing Hindu social organisations of spreading hatred against religious' minorities. A shrill propaganda by secularists against these Hindu organisations is also on to further confuse the public. They say that VHP and its associates are distributing literature that promotes hatred against the minorities in general and Christians in particular. ......
 
• Computer beware, vedic maths is here, says guru
• Vithal C. Nadkarni, The Times of India - July 31, 2000
>>> The lecture on vedic mathematics at the Nehru planetarium Vijay Ashar comes as an eye-opener to the jam-packed audience. ......
 
• 'Vedic mathematics is modern, user-friendly'
• Vithal C. Nadkarni, The Times of India - July 31, 2000
>>> During a lecture on vedic mathematics, Vijay Ashar, a retired professor of statistics and decision-making, spoke of the contribution of Bharati Krishna Tirthaji, a Shankaracharya of the Govardhan Pitham at Puri. The Swamiji reportedly wrote a book on the subject which interested English mathematicians. ......

Last message date: Mon July 31, 2000
Archived on:  Mon July 31, 2000