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Hindu Temple in Azerbaijan

Jwalaji or the goddess of fire in Azerbaijan 

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Baku (Azerbaijan): In an old settlement of oil workers situated 30 km from this Azerbaijani capital is a rare Hindu temple dedicated to 'Jwalaji or the goddess of fire', forgotten for decades but now catching the attention of tourists.

The temple, called the `Atishgah, in this predominantly Muslim republic of the former Soviet Union is a typical Hindu shrine with an iron 'trishul' on its roof with a dome.

Encircled by a stone wall, the Jwalaji temple stands in the middle of a courtyard, surrounded by cells for pilgrims coming all the way from India to worship the Fire Goddess in its hey day.

Built in 1713, a stone plaque in Hindi on the portal of the main gate says that this gate was built by Ram Datt in 1866. 

On the carved entrances of cells are stone plaques describing who built them and in which year. In all there are over 20 stone plaques, of which 18 are in Devanagri, one in Gurumukhi and one in Farsi (Persian), Sanskrit text on which begins in Hindu tradition with "Om Shri Ganeshaye Namah."

The temple was built on the spot where subterranean gas leaking out of the rocky ground used to burn day-and-night. Local records say that it was built by a prominent Hindu traders community living in Baku and its construction coincided with the fall of the dynasty of Shirwanshahs and annexation by Russian Empire following Russo-Iranian war. 

(source: Rare Hindu Temple in Muslim Azerbaijan  - sify.com). For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor

The ancient Sanskrit and Hindi inscriptions.

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Among the most interesting things to see at the temple are the ancient Sanskrit and Hindi inscriptions and the onion dome - signs that Atashgah and its fire worship were heavily influenced by India. Flames burn at each corner of the roof, fed by natural gas deposits under the ground. The temple, which is part of a larger complex of religious buildings, is located in the village of Surakhany, 20km (12mi) north-east of Baku.

(source: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/azerbaijan/attractions.htm
http://www.ecosecretariat.org/Tourism/Azerbaijan/Azerbaijan.htm
http://www.intercaspian.com/photobank/az/pb_baku4.html ).

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Vedic Math: Crunch more in less time! By Shraddha Kamdar  

Thousand-year-old 'sutras' can put the modern math methods to shame.

Scientific techniques developed thousands of years ago, mentioned in the Vedas, are now being utilised by America's National Aeronautic & Space Administration (NASA) and form a part of the curriculum in European schools.

Sadly, however, they have lost importance in the country of origin. Vedic Math, as it is called, is extracted from 16 'sutras' and 13 sub-'sutras' of the Vedas. It is a set of techniques, which can be applied to a wide spectrum of mathematic topics, to reduce the calculation time to one-tenth of the actual time of any traditional method.

Professor Atul Gupta, an IIT engineer who chanced upon a book on Vedic Math about a decade ago, was intrigued by it and learnt from it. The process was long, but nonetheless interesting and fruitful. Later, he thought of sharing his knowledge. Prof Gupta now has school students, IIT aspirants, housewives and retired persons who are simply math enthusiasts learning from him. "It is so fascinating, it has turned math-haters into math-lovers," claimed the professor.

Useful for Arithmetic, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry and Astromomy, the techniques are easy to learn and remember. The professor had this reporter so awe-struck with the methods, that it was difficult to wind up the interview and move out of his class. And he had not even touched the tip of the ice-berg. "Now you can imagine what a treasure this is. It should be passed on to our future generations," said Prof. Gupta. In that regard, he has already conducted several workshops with school children.

"These techniques are very helpful for IIT aspirants, as the entrance exam papers are full of such questions. If they save even about 10 minutes over all, imagine how many more questions they'd be able to attempt!" said Prof. Gupta for whom clearly Vedic Math is not just something he teaches, but is also a passion. (For more details, contact 2551-3728, 2557-7553).

How long does it take to divide 257910 by 9?

Using a Vedic Math technique, the answer can be arrived at in a couple of seconds! How?
It's simple.
Add all the digits of the number 257910 and reduce it to a single digit: 2+5+7+9+1+0=24. Reduce 24 further -- 2+4=6, which is the remainder.
Another way is by removing the digit 9 while adding. Or even the digits that add up to 9. For example, in 257910 don't use 9, 2 and 7. By adding the remaining digits, you still get the correct answer, i.e. 5+1+0=6.
This technique, called 'Navashesh', is applicable to any number, but only while dividing it by 9. It has a wide range of applications, to check humongous multiplications and additions.
Another technique is finding the square of a number ending in 5. For example, for squaring 85, all you have to do is take the square of 5, i.e. 25, at the end, and multiply 8 by the next arithmetic digit, 9 (8x9=72) and the answer is 7225.

(source: Vedic Math: Crunch more in less time! - By Shraddha Kamdar  - cybernoon.com). For more refer to chapter on Hindu Culture1 and Vedic Math websites).For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor

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Shivaji - The Great Maratha Warrior

For about three hundred and fifty years before Shivaji, Maharashtra was not a free state. A large portion of it was under the rule of the Nizamshah of Ahmednagar and the Adilshah of Bijapur. These two had divided Maharashtra among themselves. Their officers rules Maharashtra on their behalf. Adilshah and Nizamshah, were very narrow in their outlook and oppressed the people over whom they ruled. They were also sworn enemies of each other. They constantly fought each other and as a result the people of Maharashtra suffered untold hardships. There was hunger everywhere and the people were starving. People were not free to celebrate festivals and worship their Gods openly. Life was not safe at all and injustice prevailed everywhere.

18 year old Shivaji and his faithfuls took the oath at Rohedeshwar Temple to establish a nation of the natives which Shivaji maintained was the will of the providence. 

In his next 35 years he lived an epic which thrilled the imagination of his friends and foes alike.  

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On this background, 18 year old Shivaji and his faithfuls took the oath at Rohedeshwar Temple to establish a nation of the natives which Shivaji maintained was the will of the providence. In his next 35 years he lived an epic which thrilled the imagination of his friends and foes alike.

It is true that Shivaji contributed a lot towards the rise and growth of Maratha power in India, but it is equally true that at the time he appeared on the scene, the ground had already been prepared for him. 

According to Dr. Ishwari Prasad, "But Shivaji's rise to power cannot be treated as an isolated phenomenon in Maratha history. It was as much the result of his personal daring and heroism as of the peculiar geographical situation of the Deccan country and unifying religious influences that were animating the people with new hopes and aspirations in the 15th and 16th centuries."  

The Maratha the most formidable enemy; for he will not fail in boldness and enterprise when they are indispensible, and will always support them or supply their place, by stratagem, activity and perseverance. 

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said: "Shivaji did not belong to Maharashtra alone; he belonged to the whole Indian nation."

"Shivaji was not an ambitious ruler anxious to establish a kingdom for himself but a patriot inspired by a vision and political ideas derived from the teachings of the ancient philosophers. He studied the merits and faults of the systems of administration in kingdoms existing at the time and determined his own policies and administration in the light of that knowledge. A devout Hindu, he was tolerant of other religions and established a number of endowments for maintainig sacred places belonging to them. As a general he was undoubtedly one of the greatest in Indian history; he saw the need for and raised a navy to guard his coastline and to fight against the British and the Dutch. Pratapgad Fort build in 1656 stands today as a monument to his military genius. Shivaji is a symbol of many virtues, more especially of love of country."    

A.B. de Braganca Pereira Arquivo Portugues Oriental, Vol III wrote: "Wonderous mystic, adventurous and intrepid, fortunate, roving prince, with lovely and magnetic eyes, pleasing countenance, winsome and polite, magnanimous to fallen foe like Alexander, keen and a sharp intellect, quick in decision, ambitious conqueror like Julius Caesar, given to action, resolute and strict disciplinarian, expert strategist, far-sighted and constructive statesman, brilliant organizer, who sagaciously countered his political rivals and antagonists like the Mughals, Turks of Bijapur, the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, and the French. Undaunted by the mighty Moghuls, then the greatest power in Asia. He fought with Bijapuri to carve out a great empire."

D. Kincaid - The Grand Rebel "In spite of the character of a crusade which Ramdas's blessings gave to Shivaji's long struggle, it is remarkable how little religious animosity or intolerance Shivaji displayed. His kindness to Catholic priests is an agreeable contrast to the proscriptions of the Hindu priesthood in the Indian and Maratha territories of the Portuguese. Even his enemies remarked on his extreme respect for Mussulman priests, for mosques and for the koran. The Muslim historian Khafi Khan, who cannot mention Shivaji in his cronicle without adding epithets of vulgar abuse, nevertheless acknowledges that Shivaji never entered a conquered town without taking measures to safeguard the mosques from damage. Whenever a koran came to his possession, he treated it with the same respect as if it had been one of the sacred works of his own faith. Whenever his men captured Mussulman ladies, they were brought to Shivaji, who looked after them as if they were his wards till he could return them to their relations."   

Shivaji: The founder of the Maratha power. 
(source: India Armour - By Lord Egerton, Lord of Tatton).  

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Cosme da Guarda - Life of the Celebrated Sevaji: "Such was the good treatment Shivaji accorded to people and such was the honesty with which he observed the capitulations that none looked upon him without a feeling of love and confidence. By his people he was exceedingly loved. Both in matters of reward and punishment he was so impartial that while he lived he made no exception for any person; no merit was left unrewarded, no offence went unpunished; and this he did with so much care and attention that he specially charged his governors to inform him in writing of the conduct of his soldiers, mentioning in particular those who had distinguished themselves, and he would at once order their promotion, either in rank or in pay, according to their merit. He was naturally loved by all men of valor and good conduct."  

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi observed: 

"I think Shivaji ranks among the greatest men of the world. Since we were a slave country, our great men have been somewhat played down in world history. Had the same person been born in a European country, he would have been praised to the skies and known everywhere. It would have been said that he had illumined the world."

Sir E. Sullivan says in Warriors and Statesmen of India

"Shivaji possessed every quality requisite for success in the disturbed age in which he lived.  Cautious and wily in council, he was fierce and daring in action; he possessed an endurance that made him remarkable even amongst his hardy subjects, and an energy and decision that would in any age have raised him to distinctions.  By his own people he was painted on a white horse going at full gallop, tossing grains of rice into his mouth, to signify that his speed did not allow him to stop to eat.  He was the Hindu prince who forced the heavy Mughal cavalry to fly before the charge of the native horse of India. His strength and activity in action were glory and admiration of his race."   

O King Shivaji,
Lighting thy brow, like a lightning flash,
This thought descended,
"Into one virtuous rule, this divided broken distracted India,
I shall bind."

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Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem: 

In what far-off country, upon what obscure day
know not now,Seated in the gloom of some Mahratta mountain-wood
O King Shivaji,
Lighting thy brow, like a lightning flash,
This thought descended,
"Into one virtuous rule, this divided broken distracted India,
I shall bind."

As Sir Jadunath Sarkar (1870-1958) eminent historian, has well expressed:

"Shivaji proved, by his example, that the Hindu race could build a nation, found a State, defeat its enemies; they could conduct their own defence; they could protect and promote literature and art, commerce and industry; they could maintain navies and ocean going fleets of their own, and conduct naval battles on equal terms with foreigners. He taught the modern Hindus to rise to the full stature of their growth. He demonstrated that the tree of Hinduism was not dead, and that it could put forth new leaves and branches and once again rise up its head to the skies."

(source: Shivaji and His Times - By Sir Jadunath Sarkar p. 406).  

D. F. Karaka author of  Shivaji: Portrait of an Early Indian has written the following passage:

" ...by birth a Hindu, by caste a Maratha but by his own inclination Shivaji was an early Indian who fought to preserve the native heritage of the people of the land from the foreign invaders, at that time Moghul and Muslim, but to Shivaji's way of thinking, it could have been anyone else" 

(source: Shivaji: Portrait of an Early Indian - By Dosabhai Framji Karaka  p. 167).

Leaders such as Lala Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Annie Besant, Aurobindo Ghosh and poet Tagore have paid eloquent tributes to Shivaji as a great national leader and the builder of the country.

(source: Shivshahi.on the Web). 

For more refer to chapter on Islamic Onslaught). 

Refer to chapter on Seafaring in Ancient India for images of Maratha ships called Mahartha Grab and Gallivat ships attacking an English ship.

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The Great Maratha Power

J. Grant Duff says in History of the Marathas that:

"Bred a soldier as well as a statesman, Bajeerao united the enterprise, vogour, and hardihood of a Maratha chief with the polished manners, the sagacity, and address which frequently distinguish the Brahmins of the Concan.  Fully acquainted with the financial schemes of his father, he selected that part of the plan calculated to direct the predatory hordes of Maharashtra in a common effort.  In this respect, the genious of Bajeerao enlarged the schemes which his father devised; and unlike most Brahmins of him, it may be truly said- he had both- the head to plan and the hand to execute." 

Sir R. Temple says in Oriental Experiences 

"Bajirao was hardly to be surpassed as a rider and was ever forward in action, eager to expose himself under fire if the affair was arduous.  He was inured to fatigue and prided himself on enduring the same hardships as his soldiers and sharing their scanty fare.  He was moved by an ardour for success in national undertakings by a patriotic confidence in the Hindu cause as against its old enemies, the Muhammadans and its new rivals, the Europeans then rising above the political horizon.  He lived to see the Maratha spread over the Indian continent from the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal.  He died as he lived in camp under canvas among his men and he is remembered among the Marathas as the fighting Peshwa, as the incarnation of Hindu energy." 

Jadunath Sarkar says in his forward to Peshwa Bajirao I and Maratha Expansion

"Bajirao was a heaven born cavalry leader.  In the long and distinguished galaxy of Peshwas, Bajirao Ballal was unequalled for the daring and originality of his genius and the volume and value of his achievements.  He was truely a carlylean Hero as king or rather as a Man of action.'  If Sir Robert Walpole created the unchallengeable position of the Prime Minister in the unwritten constitution of England, Bajirao created the same institution in the Maratha Raj at exactly the same time." 

The great Maratha power - Bajirao Peshwa and Rani Lakshmi Bai.

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Surendra Nath Sen says in The Military System of the Marathas 

"The lover of Mastani knew well how to appeal to the religious sentiments of his co-religionists, although he could scarcely be considered an orthodox Brahman... Shivaji had given the Marathas a common cry, and none appreciated the potency of that cry clearly than Peshwa Bajirao.  Shivaji's military reforms he would not or could not revive, but he stood forth, as Shivaji had done, as champion of Hinduism.  People of Central and Northern India saw in him a new deliverer."

According to J.N. Sarkar, nature developed in the Marathas "Self-reliance, courage, perseverance, a stern simplicity, a rough straight-forwardness, a sense of social equality and consequently pride in the dignity of man as man. " There were no social distinctions among the people and Maratha women added to the strength and patriotism of men. 

According to Elphinstone 

"They (the Marathas) are all active, laborious, hardy and persevering. If they have none of the pride and dignity of the Rajputs, they have none of their indolence or want of worldly wisdom. A Rajput warrior as long as he does not dishonour his race, seems almost indifferent to the result of any contest he is engaged in. A Maratha thinks of nothing but the result, and cares little for the means, if he can attain his object. For this purpose, he will strain his wits, renounce his pleasures and hazard his person; but has not a conception of sacrificing his life, or even his interest for a point of honour. This difference of sentiment affects the outward appearance of the two nations; there is something noble in the carriage of the ordinary Rajput, and something vulgar in that of the most distinguished Maratha. The Rajput is the most worthy antagonist - the Maratha the most formidable enemy; for he will not fail in boldness and enterprise when they are indispensible, and will always support them or supply their place, by stratagem, activity and perseverance. All this applies chiefly to the soldiery to whom more bad qualities might fairly be ascribed. The mere husbandmen are sober, frugal and industrious, and though they have a dash of national cunning, are neither turbulent nor insincere."

Warren Hastings had noted, "..The Marathas possess alone of all the people of Hindostan and the Deccan a principle of national attachment, which is strongly impressed on all the individuals of the nation.."  

Sir Hugh Rose the commander of the British force, wrote later, "The Ranee was remarkable for her bravery, cleverness and perseverance; her generosity to her Subordinates was unbounded. These qualities, combined with her rank, rendered her the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders." A popular Indian ballad said:

How valiantly like a man fought she,
The Rani of Jhansi
On every parapet a gun she set
Raining fire of hell,
How well like a man fought the Rani of Jhansi
How valiantly and well!

"Bundeli har boli mein suni yehi kahani thi...
Khoob laDi mardaani woh toh Jhansi Wali Rani thi...." 

(source: Hindunet.org). For more on Rani Lakshmi Bai refer to chapter on Women in Hinduism and European Imperialism). For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor

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Lord Ganesha - Vinayaka in unique form - By V Ganapathy

The Nandrudayan Vinayaga temple in Devadhanam, Tiruchi, boasts of the unique Adi Vinayagar granite idol depicting Lord Ganesha with his original divine face without the usual elephantine head and the trunk.  

The five-foot tall majestic presiding deity of the temple - Nandrudayan Vinayagar adorning a Naghabharanam around his waist, has a Naganandhi facing him at the Eastern entrance of the temple. It may be mentioned that Nandi Deva is generally associated with Siva Temples only. The Seventh Century Tamil savant Sambandar had in one of his pathikams praised the presiding deity of the temple thereby indicating that this is one of the oldest temples in Sirapalli (Tiruchi).

The four-foot tall Adi Vinayagar is installed in a separate shrine close to the sanctum sanctorum and the divine grace of the brilliantly sculptured granite idol is indeed captivating. In the one hand Lord Ganesha holds the axe, symbolising the destruction of all desires, a rope to indicate his willingness to rescue anyone from the mire of vasanas, the modaka representing the joyous reward of spiritual life, and lotus symbolising that all can achieve the supreme state of self-realisation. The large belly of Ganesha is to convey the idea that a Man of Perfection can consume and digest whatever experience he undergoes. The tiny rat which is seated in front of the Lord amidst a rich collection of food is to indicate that a perfect man - like the rat, will have total control over his desires.  

A unique Adi Vinayagar granite idol depicting Lord Ganesha with his original divine face without the usual elephantine head and the trunk. 

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Inside the small shrine one could also see the idols of Adi Sankara, Sage Veda Vyasa, Goddess Gayatri, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Saint Pattinathar. According to Sage Ramarathinam, Trustee of the temple, the Kanchi Paramacharya, used to offer worship at the Thayumanavar and Uchipillayar temples atop the Rockfort. When he visited the temple about 60 years ago he suggested the rendering of the Vedas in the temple everyday it is being followed, the reciting done by scholars. Just behind the sanctum sanctorum an Anjaneya shrine has been established and the temple has separate shrines for Lord Muruga, the Navagrahas, Goddess Durga and Lord Ayyappa in the other Mandapam. Special poojas are performed for Adi Vinayagar on Thursdays. In the annual music festival conducted for the past 83 years almost all leading musicians have participated. It may be recalled that Devadhanam of today is highly congested where daily wage earners, rag pickers, dealers in old second hand household articles, etc. live. A couple of centuries ago, prior to the establishment of the Town railway station Devadhanam was the entry point to the city from the East. Situated very close to the Cauvery, Devadhanam sported some very important and ancient temples, the Bhoologanathaswami temple, Veerasoora Mahakaliamman temple, Nandrudayan temple, etc. There were four huge tanks close to these temples all of which have now been converted into lorry stand, weekly market and parks. In recent years the residents of the area have taken a keen interest in preserving old and ancient temples.

(source: Vinayaka in unique form - By V Ganapathy - hindu.com). For more refer to chapter on Symbolism in Hinduism).

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Cosmic Balance and World Peace - By Frederic Lamond

Until 3,000 years ago, all religions were pantheistic and polytheistic as Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto still are. They tolerated the religions of other tribes and cultures, recognizing in their worship the same divine energies as their own, albeit with different names.

(source: Cosmic Balance and World Peace - By Frederic Lamond). For more refer to chapter on Nature Worship).

"All religions have a home in the vast cauldron of spirituality that is India."

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Ramjanmabhoomi - Evidence from Ayodhya

A 12th century plaque showing gandharvas holding garlands

Watch History of Ayodhya - videogoogle.com.

Fractured Shiva-Parvati statue, the trishul style points to 11-12th century.   -   Figurine of a goddess.

A 12th century Bhairava murthy with matted locks, large eyes and protruding teeth.

A 12th century inscription recovered from the site on 6 December 1992, considered as a 'clinching evidence' by many senior archaeologists and historians. The illustrious Gahadavalas dynasty, is credited with the construction of the Ram temple found below the Babri structure at Ayodhya

"The inscription is composed in high-flown Sanskrit verse, except for a very small portion in prose, and is engraved in the chaste and classical Nagari script of the 11-12th century A.D. It was evidently put up on the wall of the temple, the construction of which is recorded in the text inscribed on it. Line 15 of this inscription, for example clearly tells us that a beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari, built with heaps of stone (silasamhati-grahais), and beautified with a golden spire (hiranya-kalasa-srisundaram) unparalleled by any other temple built by earlier kings (purvvairapy-akritam kritam nripatibhir) was constructed. This wonderful temple (aty-adbhutani) was built in the temple-city of Ayodhya situated in the Saketamandala showing that Ayodhya and Saketa were closely connected, Saketa being the district of which Ayodhya was a part. Line 19 describes God Vishnu as destroying king Bali (apparently in the Vamana manifestation) and the ten headed personage (Dasanana, i.e. Ravana).

(Translation of the above inscription provided by Prof. Ajaya Mitra Shastri, former Chairman, Epigraphical Society of India, Nagpur. India).

Watch History of Ayodhya - videogoogle.com.

(source: Ramjanmabhoomi: Facts and Figures - Hindu Renaissance periodical - Gurupaurnima, Ravivar, Ashadh Shudhha 15, Yugabda  5105 p. 32 - 33). For more refer to chapter on GlimpsesVII).

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Sir V S Naipaul on the Islamic Onslaught

"I would call it (the destruction of the Babri Masjid) an act of historical balancing. The mosque built by Babar in Ayodhya was meant as an act of contempt. Babar was no lover of India. I think it is universally accepted that Babar despised India, the Indian people and their faith."


""Fractured past" is too polite a way to describe India's calamitous millennium. The millennium began with the Muslim invasions and the grinding down of the Hindu-Buddhist culture of the north. This is such a big and bad event that people still have to find polite, destiny-defying ways of speaking about it. In art books and history books, people write of the Muslims "arriving"in India, as though the Muslims came on a tourist bus and went away again. The Muslim view of their conquest of India is a truer one. They speak of the triumph of the faith, the destruction of idols and temples, the loot, the carting away of the local people as slaves, so cheap and numerous that they were being sold for a few rupees. The architectural evidence-the absence of Hindu monuments in the north-is convincing enough. This conquest was unlike any other that had gone before.

There are no Hindu records of this period. Defeated people never write their history. The victors write the history. The victors were Muslims. For people on the other side it is a period of darkness. Indian history is written about as a matter of rulers and kingdoms shifting and changing. This is why it all seems petty and boring to read and hard to remember. But there is a larger and more tragic and more illuminating theme. That theme is the grinding down of Hindu India.

(source: OutlookIndia.com, 15 November 1999 and  http://www.indpride.com/vsnaipaul.html).

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Rampant Negationism : The Indian Marxists - By Koenraad Elst

One should know that there is a strange alliance between the Indian communist parties and the Muslim fanatics. Marxism dehumanizes people to impersonal pawns, or “forces” in the hands of god History. The Marxist historians had the field all to themselves, and they set to work to “decommunalize” Indian history-writing, ie. To erase the importance of Islam as a factor of conflict. 

In Communalism and the Writing of Indian History, Romila Thapar, Harbans Mukhia and Bipin Chandra, professors at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, the Mecca of “secularism” and negationism) in Delhi, write that the interpretation of medieval wars as religious conflicts is in fact a back-projection of contemporary religious conflict artificially created for political purposes. They explicitly deny that before the modern period there existed such a thing as Hindu identity or Muslim identity. Conflicts could not have been between Hindus and Muslims, only between rulers or classes who incidentally also belonged to one religious community or the other. It is of course a fact that in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw the Nazis employed Jewish guards: this does not disapprove Nazi-Jewish enemity. Time and again, the negationist historians (including Bipan Chandra, K N Panikkar, S. Gopal, Romila Thapar, Harnans Mukhia, Irfan Habib, R S Sharma, Gyandra Pandey, Sushil Srivastava, Asghar Ali Engineer, as well as the Muslim fundamentalist politician Syed Shahabuddin) have asserted that the tradition according to which the Babri mosque forcibly replaced a Hindu temple, is nothing but a myth purposely created in the 19^th century. To explain the popularity of the myth even among local Muslim writers in the 19^th century, most of them say it was a deliberate British concoction, spread in the interest of the “divide and rule” policy. They affirm this conspiracy scenario without anyhow citing, from the copious archives which the British administration in India has left behind, any kind of positive indication for their convenient hypothesis – let alone the rigorous proof on which a serious historian would base his assertions, especially in such controversial questions. 

Personal Attacks on Opponents 

In December 1990, the leading JNU historians and several allied scholars, followed by the herd of secularist pen-pushers in the Indian press, have tried to raise suspicions against the professional honesty of Prof. B B Lal and Dr. S P Gupta, the archaeologists who have unearthed evidence for the existence of a Hindu temple at the Babri Masjid site. Rebuttals by these two and a number of other archaeologists have received minimal coverage in the secularist press. 

I have been thinking of the behavior of our Marxist friends and historians, their unprovoked slander campaign against many collegues, hurling abuses and convicting anyone and everyone even before the charges could be framed and proved. Their latest target is so sober and highly respected a person as Prof. B B Lal, who has all his life never involved himself in petty politics or in the groupism so favorite a sport among the so-called Marxist intellectuals of this country. But then slander is a well-practised art among the Marxists.” 

(source: Negationism in India - By Koenraad Elst   p. 37 -41). Refer to My People, Uprooted: "A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal"  - By Tathagata Roy

Watch History of Ayodhya - videogoogle.com.

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Submerged city may be older than Mesopotamia
There is growing evidence that the East Coast of India was the real cradle of modern civilization. Perhaps it's time to rewrite the history books...?

The Big Temple built by Rajaraja Cholan - This temple is a fine example for the Indian sculptural architecture greatness. The temple tower sanctum sanctorum is 216 feet tall.

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A submerged coastal city near Poompuhar in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, is the focus of a major expedition being conducted jointly by the Indian Naval Hydrographic Department (INHD) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Both the organizations are trying to piece together the city's past, which some noted marine archaeologists consider to be the birthplace of modern civilization. The once flourishing port city is located about one mile off the Nagapattinam coast.

"We have been able to locate a section of the city at a depth of 7 m and will soon start operations to recover objects that will help ascertain its past," said Rear Admiral K.R. Srinivasan, chief hydrographer to the Indian government. English marine archaeologist Graham Hancock, who conducted an underwater exploration in the area in 2001, believes that the Poompuhar site could be older than Sumeria in Mesopotamia, where modern civilization is believed to have originated nearly 5,000 years ago.

It led Hancock to surmise that the city could have been submerged by a tidal wave as high as 400 ft somewhere between 17,000 and 7,000 years ago.

(source: Submerged city may be older than Mesopotamia - By Utpal Parashar - hindustantimes.com).  For a panoramic view of the Big Temple). For more refer to chapter on Aryan Invasion Theory).

For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor

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Where's India's holocaust museum? - By Francois Gautier

The massacre of 6 million Jews by Hitler and the persecution Jews suffered all over the world in the last 15 centuries has been meticulously recorded by the Jews after 1945 and has been enshrined not only in history books, but also in Holocaust museums, the most famous one being in Washington, DC.

Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists have also suffered a terrible holocaust, probably without parallel in human history. Take the Hindu Kush for instance, probably one of the biggest genocides of Hindus. There is practically no serious research ever done about it and no mention in history books. Yet the name Hindu Kush appears many times in the writings of Muslim chroniclers in 1333 AD. Ibn Battutah, the medieval Berber traveller, said the name meant 'Hindu Killer,' a meaning still given by Afghan mountain dwellers. Unlike the Jewish holocaust, the exact toll of the Hindu genocide suggested by the name Hindu Kush is not available. 'However,' writes Hindu Kush specialist Srinandan Vyas, 'the number is easily likely to be in millions.' 

Afghanistan was a full part of the Hindu cradle up till the year 1000, and in political unity with India until Nadir Shah separated it in the 18th century. The mountain range in Eastern Afghanistan where the native Hindus were slaughtered, is still called the Hindu Kush.

(Note: To the Hindus, this mountain range was known as Paariyaatra Parvat. But when the last Hindu king of Kabul was killed. Muslims ruled this land and then called these mountains the Hindu Kush -- "Slaughter of the Hindus" ).

It is significant that one of the very few place-names on earth that reminds us not of the victory of the winners but rather of the slaughter of the losers, concerns a genocide of Hindus by the Muslims.

The saptamatrikas

A few known historical figures can be used to justify this estimate. The Encyclopaedia Britannica recalls that in December 1398 AD, Taimurlane ordered the execution of at least 50,000 captives before the battle for Delhi; likewise, the number of captives butchered by Taimurlane's army was about 100,000.

The Britannica again mentions that Mughal emperor Akbar ordered the massacre of about 30,000 captured Rajput Hindus on February 24, 1568 AD, after the battle for Chitod, a number confirmed by Abul Fazl, Akbar's court historian. Afghan historian Khondamir notes that during one of the many repeated invasions on the city of Herat in western Afghanistan, which used to be part of the Hindu Shahiya kingdoms '1,500,000 residents perished.' 'Thus, 'it is evident that the mountain range was named as Hindu Kush as a reminder to the future Hindu generations of the slaughter and slavery of Hindus during the Moslem conquests.'

Kashmir was also the crucible of knowledge, spirituality, a hallowed centre of learning and the cradle of Shivaism. It was known as Sharda Peeth, the abode of learning. Kashmiri Pandits excelled in philosophy, aesthetics, poetics, sculpture, architecture, mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Sanskrit was studied, propagated and spoken by women and men. Scholars like Kalhan, Jonraj, Srivar, Abhinavgupta, Somanand, Utpaldev, Somdev and Kshemendra created an intellectual centre of unrivalled repute. Fundamentalism and terrorism have been ruthless in their assault on Sharda Peeth, zealous in ravaging its heritage, and consistent only in bloodthirsty intolerance. The destruction of Hindu places of worship, forced conversions of Pandits and death and ignominy to those who resisted, were accompanied by a savage assault on literary activity. This process has been going on since centuries.

Sun Temple:  The most memorable and beautiful work of Lalitaditya Mukhtapida is the construction of spacious Martand temple which the emperor got built in honour of the Sungod - Bhaskar. Martand has a very high place in the world's great architecutral designs. The  temple is a mirror of the art and skill of Kashmiri Hindus. This way Lalitaditya should not be considered a founder of a vast empire but also a founder of art and skill of Kashmiri Hindus for six centuries.

Watch History of Ayodhya - videogoogle.com.

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In the Hindu imagination, Kashmir is said to be the abode of gods. Amid these deeply forested hills, Siva is said to have narrated to his consort Parvati, the sacred Amarkatha, the secret of immortality. In ancient times, Kashmir was known as Sarada Peeth, the seat of the goddess of learning. In Kashmir, visions of the lord's glory are constantly in front of us. It is only natural that the unique form of Kashmir Saivism developed here. In this philosophy there is a great emphasis on the worship of Sakti, who is the manifestation in this world of the ideal that is Siva. She is seen constantly in the beauty and grandeur of the great mountains, in crystal-clear streams of water and in the deep beauty of the still lakes of Kashmir. Indian thinkers have always seen the world around as a reflection of the beauty of God. It is believed that the feeling of ecstasy upon seeing the beauty of nature or a truly fine work of art is akin to brahmananda (the final bliss of enlightenment) itself. In that moment of bliss, the faithful sense their oneness with the whole of creation and the great beauty of God that is reflected in every aspect of the world

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We would also like to start another exhibition on forced Christian conversions in the Northeast. Ultimately, we would like to build a Hindu/ Sikh/Buddhist Indian Holocaust Museum based in New Delhi, or in Bangalore. It will record not only the genocide of Hindus Sikhs and Buddhists at the hands of Muslim invaders, but also the terrible persecution of the Portuguese (hardly mentioned in Indian history books) and British -- nobody knows for instance that 20 million Indians died of famine between 1815 and 1920, because the English broke the agricultural backbone of India to get raw materials like cotton, jute etc.

Hence, with two journalist friends, we started a Foundation: FACT -- Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism. We need your support for this Indian Holocaust Museum.

(source: Where's India's holocaust museum? - By Francois Gautier - rediff.com and Ayodhya and After - By Koenraad Elst Voice of India SKU: INBK2650 p.278). http://www.flonnet.com/fl2109/stories/20040507000106500.htm. For more on Martand Temple refer to Converted Kashmir and http://ignca.nic.in/asp/showbig.asp?projid=rar1 and http://www.jktourism.org/cities/kashmir/site-see/shrines.htm#8.  For more refer to chapter on Islamic Onslaught and European Imperialism).

Refer to My People, Uprooted: "A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal"  - By Tathagata Roy

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Pray, why this leap of faith? 
Fraudulent use of Hindu Scriptures by Christian Evangelists?

For long they have said Hindu Gods were devils and any worship of Them is a heathen practice. Now Christian zealots have outdone themselves by taking a giant leap of faith and claiming that the various Vedic Sanskrit slogans were in praise of Jesus and not Hindu Gods.

Christian propaganda pamphlets and booklets in circulation especially in and around Madurai district also make the ludicrous suggestion that Swami Vivekananda had asked the people to worship Jesus. The pamphlets, which have been put in circulation by the Madurai-based Infant Jesus Hospital (headed by one Rev Fr. Caleb), also fraudulently invoke Bhagawat Gita slogans saying that they preach against idol worship. The highly inflammatory but dubious pamphlets, which the footsoldiers (primarily women) of Christian expansionism have been delivering at doorstep after doorstep in Southern districts, go as far as to decree that 'people should not follow any other faith other than Christianity'.

Just sample some of the 'interpretations' in the pamphlets:

Om Sri Brahma Puthraya Nama reads as 'I worship Jesus, who came to the world as God's son (Yowan 3:16.17)'.

Om Shri Dakshina Murthaya Nama is translated as 'I worship Jesus who is sitting on the thigh of his father (Yowan (1:18)'.

Taking specific mantras from Sama Veda, the Christian marketers say 'Om Sri Panchakaya Nama refers to Jesus, the one with five wounds (panchakaya) Yowan 20:25.27. Om Sri Ummathiya Nama is translated as 'I hail one born to the holy spirit' (Mathew 1:18).

Parajapathi is taken to be representing the Christ and several quotes are given to suggest that Hinduism had all along had been talking about the 'Holy Saviour'.

A Tamil advertisement posted by a Church claiming that Hinduism is been derived from 'Thomasian' Dravida Christianity. The highly inflammatory but dubious pamphlets, which the footsoldiers (primarily women) of Christian expansionism have been delivering at doorstep after doorstep in Southern districts, go as far as to decree that 'people should not follow any other faith other than Christianity'.

Refer to Religious Freedom Report as a Political Weapon - According to the report, there seems to be mainly one discriminated minority in India : the Christian missionaries.

Refer to Persecution complex - Evangelical lawmakers behind creation of USCIRF

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The pamphlets go the whole hog and reel out several texts from the hoary Rig Veda, saying all of them were meant for Christianity.

The mantra from Brihat Aranyako Upanishad (Asathoma sadhgamaya, Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya...) is laboriously expanded and explained to mean that Jesus is leading as the light of the world. And the 'explanation' goes on to add: 'there is a word-to-word answer in the bible to every prayer in the Upanishad'.

Bhagwat Gita is also not left alone. In a seeming translation of a verse from Neethicharam, the pamphlet says that 'those fools who worship statues made up of stone, wood and metal would beget nothing other than misery and would not be pardoned'.

Of course, this is plain duplicitous misinterpretation. But they have not stopped with that. They go on to plain falsehoods. The pamphlets invoke Swami Vivekananda and say that he wanted hundreds and thousands of Christian religious workers to come to India so that the preaching of Jesus could go to the hearts of all Hindu people.

Understandably the locals are highly offended at the effrontery of the evangelists. Apart from the farcical and facile reasonings in the hand-outs, the locals say the fact they (evangelists) made bold to deliver them in every household makes clear their rabid fundamentalism. The brazen approach of the Christian preachers is a major talking point in the Southern districts for quite some time. They brook at no niceties. Anything goes for them. The ways are unimportant to them. In going about their patently communal ways, they have vitiated the general atmosphere in the districts. The prayers (real ones) of the peace-loving people to the authorities have had no effect so far.

(source: Pray, why this leap of faith? - newstodaynet.com and The Hijacking of Hinduism - Indians Against Christian Aggression).

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Who was this Staines really? -  By Chitranjan Mahopadhyay

The case is almost closed now. Dara Singh has been convicted, Graham Staines is widely regarded as a martyr. The first one is seen as a symbol of communal Hindu mind while the other as an innocent do-gooder for the tribals. But is the truth really so? Was Staines just a simple-minded social worker working amongst the tribals of Orissa for leprosy eradication and Dara Singh a rabid communalist?

Nobody denies that Staines was involved in leprosy treatment. But, as many tribals in the area point out even today, Staines was involved in something more sinister too: Converting to Christianity innocent and gullible tribals who accepted him and his family readily.

It is easy and almost facile to glorify Staines in the aftermath of his gory death. There is no justification for his killing, yet very importantly he was no saint out to merely help the tribals. Right from 1965 when he came to this sleepy village Mayurbhanj, Staines was just a simple missionary out to add numbers to his religion. The leprosy eradication work was plain incidental. 

This is a fact that can be verified even today with the tribals. Staines was the Secretary of the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj (EMSM).

Locals say that as a missionary, Staines was primarily preaching the gospel and spreading the tenets of Christianity in jungle camps held in different tribal belts in the district of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Many such camps were held very close Hindu festivals. Tribals say that during such camps the talk and focus would be around belittling Hindu festivals and Gods. This led to tension and unease in the locality.  But Staines seemed prepared for confrontations, and whenever some angry tribals accosted and took him on the subject, he would not retaliate in angry words. His reaction was a practised silence. It is easy and almost natural to interpret this as example of his essential simple and peace-loving attitude. But the actual truth was Staines was striking two mangoes with one stone: Getting the tribals converted even while stoking the anger of others to show them as the villains of the situation. Machiavelli could not have bettered this. It is a classical ploy, and it worked it works even today.

Staines efforts at conversion paid rich dividends as he managed to get the entire Ho and Santal tribes to Christianity. The tribals converted to Christianity distanced themselves from the non-Christian tribals and adopted anti-tribal customary practice of eating beef and ploughing land during Raja festival (when according to the tribal custom the land was to be kept fallow).

In a show of brinkmanship, they also played Christian audio cassettes in marriage functions to the chagrin of tribals.  

As because of this, tension and unease was a constant in the locality. Innocent tribals who had lived together in peace and harmony for long were now ranged up against each other. 

 Innocent tribals who had lived together in peace and harmony for long were now ranged up against each other.

Refer to Religious Freedom Report as a Political Weapon - According to the report, there seems to be mainly one discriminated minority in India : the Christian missionaries.

Refer to Persecution complex - Evangelical lawmakers behind creation of USCIRF

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It is in such a scheme of things that an angry young man from Auriya in Uttar Pradesh named Rabindra Kumar Pal alias Dara Singh came to the area. He was young and volatile, and hence could not stand what was happening around. But his mental make up was such that he was not ready for the nuanced psychological warfare that his adversaries were waging. Like his words, Dara Singh's action were also blunt. Some of the non-Christian tribals of Manoharpur and nearby villages seething at the behaviour of tribal converts in shunning tribal traditions found a Messiah (if that is the word) in Dara Singh.

Soon enough, the inevitable happened. Staines and his sons were set ablaze.  It was a heinous crime no doubt, but in a sense it was waiting to happen. Staines was courting disaster with his extremely provocative actions.  Perhaps that was the plan, after all. After such a high-profile event which the media also jumped on to, there was nobody to really understand what had really happened. Worse, there none to ask the question 'why'. The case that the media built was: 'Dara Singh was so communal that he could not tolerate the good work of the Christian Staines'. The truth alas, as the locals say even today, was totally different.  Like many things in Indian history, the story of Staines is also being written with an ink dipped in falsehoods and sweeping generalisations. 

(source: Who was this Staines really? - By Chitranjan Mahopadhyay ). For more on Staines refer to chapter on Conversion and www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html). Sign the petition - UN & Religious Proselytization - petitiononline.com).

Besides his Involvement with Leprosy Home, Staines was also involved in missionary work.  The missionary work of Staines has come to light from the various despatches sent by him to Australia, which is published in a newsletter 'Tidings'. The fact