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Mahatma Gandhi and Louis Dumont  

"Instilling guilt about the "evils of Hindu society" is indeed a favorite weapon of the Secularist Elite."

                       -   Professor Ashish Nandy is a political psychologist, sociologist and director of Delhi's Center for the Study of Developing Societies.

Refer to Defaming of Hinduism-I – By V Sundaram – newstodaynet.com and Defaming of Hinduism-II – By V Sundaram – newstodaynet.com  

(Note: Casteism pales in comparison with 50 million Africans killed in slave boats, 200+ years of slavery with church justification of Africans having no soul, lynchings of young African Americans, decimation of Native Americans with things like disease infected blankets, colonization of Africa, Americas and Asia and sapping their economy totally causing famines and living skeletons, Nazi holocaust of 10 million, burning of witches. Refer to Hinduism Under Threat - protectreligions.org).  

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Gandhi, who was a proud and devout Hindu, was not the first Hindu to question the evil of the caste system. But he did not reject caste outright; it was discrimination (casteism) and not hierarchy that he condemned. He wanted an India shaped by ethics rather than social engineering. This would not happen merely by abolition of castes or a law that would be a dead letter. Gandhi said spiritual regeneration could come about if Hindus returned to the ancient texts of the Vedas and the Upanishads which recognize both castes and outcastes without discrimination. (refer to quotes page for Gandhi's views on Hinduism).

For Gandhi, varna had nothing to do with caste. 

He wrote: "Though the law of varna is a special discovery of some Hindu seer, it has universal application. Every religion has some distinguishing characteristic, but if it expresses a principle of law, it ought to have universal application. This is how I look at the law of varna. The world may ignore it today but it will have to accept it in the time to come." 

"The Hindu civilization has survived the Egyptian, the Assyrian and the Babylonian. The Christian is but two thousand years old. The Islamic is but of yesteryear. Great as both these are they are still in my humble opinion in the making. Christian Europe is not at all Christian, but is groping, and so in my opinion is Islam still groping for its great secret, and there is today a competition, healthy as also extremely unhealthy and ugly, between these three great religions. As years go by, the conviction is daily growing upon me that varna is the law of man's being and therefore as necessary for Christianity and Islam, as it has been necessary for Hinduism and has been its saving."

(source: Hinduism for Our Times - By Arvind Sharma Oxford Univ Pr  June 1996 ISBN 0195637496 p. 4). Refer to Insults to the Mahatma, ignored by India - rediff.com. Refer to The Myth of Jesus Christ - By Nithin S - haindavakeralam.org. Refer to In the name of the Church - By Rahul Karmarkar.

Refer to Think tank alleges British MPs involved in promoting evangelism in India - hinduvoice.co.uk.  Refer to  UK child sex abuse is rife a National epidemic

He defended the caste system, the beta noire of all missionaries and reformers inspired by them. "Caste is a very good," he said. "Caste is the plan we want to follow...There is no country in the world without caste..."

(source:
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume V. p. 214).

Gandhiji and Brahmins 

He told the Brahmins: A Brahmin is one who knows Brahman, he reminds Brahmins, not one who is born into a caste. He was to be synonymous with renunciation, self-control, learning, service of others, of effacing oneself in service of others. As such he cannot look upon any one as low or untouchable, nor can he aspire to any secular vocation or goal. Get back to these ideals, he exhorts them, yield to the non-Brahmins what they are demanding. And so he told the Brahmins to live up to the ancient ideals, he told the non-Brahmins agitationists repeatedly, “The remedy is correction not destruction”, that, by the methods their leaders were asking to adopt, they would end up destroying Hinduism itself. 

Do not think you will gain anything by becoming non-Hindus, he told them, do not think you will gain anything by abusing Brahmins or burning their homes. “Who were Tilak, Gokhale, Ranade and Agarkar?” he asked them. They were Brahmins, they were in the forefront of every nationalist struggle, they served the cause of the non-Brahmins at the greatest cost to themselves, it is in many cases through the work of Brahmins that the non-Brahmins have been made aware of their rights, he told them. “The Brahmins, however, fallen they may be, are still in the forefront of all movements, political and social”, he said in a typical speech. “It is the Brahmins who exert for the uplift of the depressed classes, more than anybody else. Lokmanya Tilak is revered by all classes of people for his services to the country. The late Mr. Gokhale , Mr. Ranade and the Hon’rable Mr. Sastri have all done splendid work for the regeneration of the backward classes. These are all Brahmins. I am convinced that the Brahmins are known for their self-sacrifice at all times.  

(source: Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi  - 20.144). 

“By indulging in violent contempt of a community which has produced men like Ramdas, Tulsidas, Ranade, Tilak, and others”, he told the non-Brahmins, it is impossible that you can rise.” 

“I have not a shadow of doubt,” he declared, “that Hinduism owes it all to the great traditions that the Brahmins have left for Hinduism. They have left a legacy for India, for which every Indian, no matter to what varna he may belong, owes a deep debt of gratitude.”

(source: Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi 19. 546 and  A Secular Agenda: For saving our country, For welding it - By Arun Shourie  p. 35). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com

Affirmative action in India flips caste roles

Years of affirmative action have upended India's caste system to the point where some upper-caste Brahmins are reduced to working as porters and pedaling rickshaws, while almost half the places in universities will soon be reserved for lower castes and tribal people. 

Ramesh Jha, a Brahmin, came to New Delhi because he could not find work in his village in eastern Bihar state, where farming jobs have disappeared and almost all the government jobs are reserved for lower castes. He now cleans toilets, performing a job once done by only the lowest of castes -- "untouchable" scavengers who cleaned excreta with their bare hands.

Now the government, using data from a caste census taken in 1931, is on its way to increasing the number of university admissions reserved for lower castes and tribal people to 49.5 percent from 22.5 percent.

This year, large groups of medical and engineering students went on hunger strikes, faced tear gas and left hospitals unmanned for days to participate in protests. The demonstrators say the quota system will squelch merit in India's most respected universities and further fracture Indian society. 

Since caste cannot always be determined by looks, corrupt government officials are known to create fake lower-caste certificates for anyone who pays. Recently, the Indian Express newspaper obtained a backward-caste certificate for Atal Behari Vajpayee -- a Brahmin and former prime minister -- simply by paying a bribe of less than $10. Meanwhile, the status of Brahmins in many states is abysmal. In Andhra Pradesh, 44 percent of Brahmins in the 5 to 18 age group dropped out of school at the primary level, according to a book by J. Radhakrishna. And hundreds of thousands of Brahmins who were forced to leave insurgency-hit Kashmir now live as refugees in other parts of India.

(source: Affirmative action in India flips caste roles - By Erica Lee Nelson - The Washington Times).

Refer to Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing of Kashmiri Hindu Pandits - And the World Remained Silent - Movie http://www.jaia-bharati.org/films/and-the-world.mpg

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Anti-Brahminism have deep roots in Christian theology

To be against "Brahminism" is part and parcel of the political correctness of progressive scholars in twenty-first-century India. This indicates that something is very wrong with the Indian academic debate. Promotion of animosity towards a religious tradition or its followers is not acceptable today, but it becomes truly perverse when the intelligentsia endorses it.  In Europe , it took horrendous events to put an end to the propaganda of anti-Semitism, which had penetrated the media and intelligentsia. It required decades of incessant campaigning before anti-Semitism was relegated to the realm of intellectual and political bankruptcy. In India , anti-Brahminism is still the proud slogan of many political parties and the credential of the radical intellectual.

Both anti-Semitism and anti-Brahminism have deep roots in Christian theology

The contemporary stereotypes about Brahmins and the story about Brahminism also originate in Christian theology. They reproduce Protestant images of the priests of false religion. When European missionaries and merchants began to travel to India in great numbers, they held two certainties that came from Christian theology: false religion would exist in India ; and false religion revolved around evil priests who had fabricated all kinds of laws, doctrines and rites in order to bully the innocent believers into submission. In this way, the priests of the devil abused religion for worldly goals. The European story about Brahminism and the caste system simply reproduced this Protestant image of false religion. The colonials identified the Brahmins as the priests and Brahminism as the foundation of false religion in India . This is how the dominant image of "the Hindu religion" came into being. The theological criticism became part of common sense and was reproduced as scientific truth. In India , this continues unto this day. Social scientists still talk about "Brahminism" as the worst thing that ever happened to humanity.

Some Jews began to believe that they were to blame for what happened during the Holocaust; many educated Brahmins now feel that they are guilty of historical atrocities against other groups. In some cases, this has led to a kind of identity crisis in which they vilify "Brahminism" in English-language academic debate, but continue their traditions. In twentieth-century Europe , we have seen how dangerous anti-Semitism was and what consequences it could have in society. Tragically, unimaginable suffering was needed before it was relegated to the realm of unacceptable positions. In India, anti-Brahminism was adopted from Protestant missionaries by colonial scholars who then passed it on to the secularists and Dalit intellectuals. The question that India has to raise in the twenty-first century is this: Do we need bloodshed, before we will realise that the reproduction of anti-Brahminism?

(source: The Indian Jews - By Jakob De RooverOutlookindia.com June 20, 2008).

Anti-Brahmanism, the New Communalism of Modern India

Anti-Brahminism has a long history in India, being a dominant theme of the long period of foreign rule. In the last thousand years India was primarily governed by non-Hindus - Muslims and Christians - who certainly cannot be called pro-Brahmin in their policies. When India was invaded by foreign powers, the Brahmins proved to be a great obstacle, particularly against religious conversion.

Muslim rulers made special efforts to convert or even kill Brahmins. They destroyed Hindu temples in order to deprive the Brahmins, who were mainly temple priests, of their influence and their income. The British rulers of colonial India targeted the Brahmins and dismantled the traditional educational system that the Brahmins upheld.

However, the same groups which attacked the Brahmins found that they had to use the Brahmins at times, who represented the intelligentsia of the country, to help administer the country. So occasionally they compromised with the Brahmins and allowed them certain privileges. But the Brahmins had little power under their rule, and were officially discredited as heathens.  

 

 Sages of ancient India.

 

Valmiki who composed the Grand Epic of Ramayana.

Caste is the secret of that amazing stability which is characteristic of the Indian social structure. The caste system in the Vedic times was fluid and did not become fossilized till much later as evident from the many of the Vedic sages (rishis) who came from the lower caste. 

Much loved and still admired today, Valmiki and Ved Vyasa were from the lower rungs of society. Think about it - A religion (Hinduism) that has preached that ‘The Divine exists in all beings’ could not possibly have tolerated an abusive social system. If the caste system were such an awful concept the highly enlightened and rational Vedic rishis (composers of the profound Upanishads) would have abandoned it themselves.

Even today Caste system by itself is not faulty (even Europe of the Middle Ages had a divided society) but the abuse in the name of caste (casteism) and the lack of fluidity is wrong.  Division (class or caste) is and will always be an inherent trait in human nature.

Watch video - Brahmins in India have become a minority  

Refer to Loot: in search of the East India Company - By Nick Robins and How India became poor - indiarealist.com

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Hence the Brahmins were the main oppressed community in India over the last thousand years and the main target of Muslims and Christians trying to control and convert the country. This historical oppression of the Brahmins has been lost on modern Indians, primarily because of anti-Brahmin propaganda of various types. Somehow this oppressed group has been stereotyped as the ruling oppressors!

As Brahmins are vilified as the oppressive ruling elite one would expect that the Brahmins routinely ruled the country. Not only was this not true in the period of foreign rule, it wasn't true in the period of classical India either. In this regard it is important to look at the social role traditionally held by Brahmins. In traditional India Brahmins served as the priestly class, providing teachers of all types as well performing religious sacraments and temple worship.

The traditional Brahmin was given to a life of poverty, social service, and spiritual practice. Brahmin families usually gave one of their sons to become a monk and led lives of religious austerity. The Brahmins therefore had neither economic nor political advantage. Their status was on a religious and intellectual level. They were praised as religious leaders, not as a political or economic elite.

The Kshatriyas or the noble class, who were taught the arts of government and warfare, traditionally ruled India. The Vaishyas, the merchant and agrarian class, administered the wealth of the community. The Brahmins as the priestly class did not control the military or economy of the country except when individual Brahmins stepped beyond the traditional limits of their class, which was rare.

As a class Brahmins were not allowed to carry weapons or to accumulate wealth and property. Each village had its Brahmins to guide the community and perform religious ceremonies, whom the villagers would in turn provide with modest food and shelter. Village Brahmins were on par with other village folks and most Brahmins were of this type. Hindu kings also had their chief priests or purohits, their special Brahmins to guide the kingdom.

Only these Brahmins in service to kings and princes gained social status through royal patronage and the affluence that could come with it. The Kshatriyas or the noble class, who were taught the arts of government and warfare, traditionally ruled India. The Vaishyas, the merchant and agrarian class, administered the wealth of the community. The Brahmins as the priestly class did not control the military or economy of the country except when individual Brahmins stepped beyond the traditional limits of their class, which was rare.

(source: Anti-Brahmanism, the New Communalism of Modern India - By David Frawley). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com. Refer to Anger Is No Substitute For Substance, MR.Kancha Ilaiah - vigilonline.com

Watch video - Brahmins in India have become a minority

Ram Swarup Thinker and author, writes: 

"Old India had castes but no casteists; new India have casteists but no worthwhile castes. In old India, all people and castes united in defending the society, in defending temples, Brahmins, cows - still worthy objects of protection by a great and compassionate people and civilization." Caste was not an economic concept or organization; it was social and cultural. Castes became static and depressed during the period of protracted foreign rule. Under foreign domination the status of every community became depressed and those on the margin or those who offered persistent resistance became more depressed." 

(source: On Hinduism Reviews and Reflections - By Ram Swarup p. 30).

Louis Dumont (1911 - 1988) French anthropologist and author of Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications in 1966) theory is that all societies are based on the principle of hierarchy, which has to be structured in some way or another; India is structured along caste lines. The Nazis based their hierarchy on race, the Soviets on class, the Europe of Middle Ages on feudalism and traditional Japan on imperialism. Thus caste ideology does not need religious props. A poverty-ridden society, belonging to a caste seems preferable to getting lost in a nameless proletariat. Gandhi believed caste was a source of collective solidarity and though he fought against the hierarchy and and discrimination it gave rise to, he was not willing to reject the institution as a whole. Castes, he said, had the merit of preventing the drift towards Western individualism, which he considered to be socially egoistical, culturally impoverishing and morally questionable. 

Louis Dumont, who had seen both class and race wars in the West, argues that caste inhere in human nature. And this explains the indifference to caste of the earlier European travelers who came to India. It was only later with modernity that a reaction set in. The hostility of the West to castes may well have something to do with the zeal of Christian missionaries to convert. As Islam had shown, the untouchables were the easiest to proselytize and that is why they aroused the most compassion. 

(source: The Genius of India - By Guy Sorman  ('Le Genie de l'Inde') Macmillan India Ltd. 2001. ISBN 0333 93600 0 p. 64-65).

Kumbh Mela and Caste

"Many writers have added a new charges of discrimination against Hinduism. The evidence from Maha Kumbh directly contradicts all such contentions. How did caste and untouchability express itself at the Maha Kumbh? 

Were there Brahmins at the gate checking the pilgrims status in case they belonged to lower caste and were untouchables? Look at the evidence. (i) Maha Kumbh happens every 144 years. (ii) It is the holiest of holy occasion in the Hindu religion; there can’t be, and is not, a more holy occasion. (iii) Dipping at Sangam during this period is therefore the holiest of holy ceremonies. (iv) 100 million people performed these ceremonies including dalits, so-called “low caste” and “untouchables’ Hindus. (v) Entry to this ceremony was not restricted to any one. Hindus, even Muslim women from Pakistan were welcomed to participate in these ceremonies.

(source: My Experience at the Maha Kumbh Mela - By Romesh Diwan, who is a professor of economics at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY).

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Navya Shastra Organization Apologizes for Untouchability

Navya Shastra, the international Hindu reform organization, has issued an apology to the Dalit communities of India. The organization issued the apology after consulting with Hindu activists and its own Dalit members. 

"We, at Navya Shastra, deeply regret and apologize for the atrocities committed on the sons and daughters of the depressed communities of India, including the tribals, the "untouchables" and all of the castes deemed as low. We shamefully acknowledge that the ideals of varna and its practical manifestation in castes (jatis), promoted and encouraged the notions of inequality, lesser and greater, high and low, superior and inferior among human beings. An ideal that does not aspire for equality of human beings is not worthy of being an ideal. Caste and varna have relegated many to a degradingly low status. This was a divisive, inhumane and a ruinous social construct. Navya Shastra fully recognizes this and rejects unequivocally as heinous and despicable varna and caste together with all Shastras and theories that endorse them or support the unjust and demeaning social hierarchy that these imposed on the Indian society. Navya Shastra understands that all Hindus cannot be equals when such theories are still amidst us. We ask for forgiveness for what our forefathers did in the past to directly and indirectly contribute to any and all indignities heaped by one human being upon another in the name of Dharma and God, and which some among us continue to do even in this enlightened era. The depressed and lowest castes have been the keepers and protectors of our oldest and most ancient traditions and wisdom. They have kept in practice the traditions that have become foundational to what we call "mainstream" Hinduism today. Some of the tribal languages, spoken even today, have provided the substratum for many of the spoken and classical languages of India. Most of our mainstream indigenous medicinal, agricultural, craftsmanship and other knowledge systems owe their origins to the knowledge and practices that have been propagated and retained within these castes over millennia. The folk performing arts were and are the main sources of input into the classical and popular art forms. We want to celebrate and fete all these traditions on this day, and pay homage to them. These traditions form the very foundation on which the Indian civilization stands today."

(source: Navya Shastra Organization Apologizes for Untouchability - navyshastra.org).

Watch video - Brahmins in India have become a minority

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Note to Ponder

From Rooftops - The West Countries, and So called Christian Missionaries in India claim that Christianity is an Egalitarian Religion - then why this discontent and why are all these protests happening on Wall Street?

Refer to the Occupy Wall street, Occupy Wall Street protests and London Riots 2011 and Violence in Rome 2011 and Dante's Inferno in Italy

Same with The Arab World - Protests are sweeping across the deserts of the Muslim world - the question is Why? - Riots spread across Arab World

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UN World Conference against Racism

According to columnist Sandhya Jain: "The determined bid by Christian evangelists to take caste-based discrimination in India to the UN World Conference against Racism (WCAR) has inspired leftists, liberals and human rights activists into a frenzy of verbiage and sanctimoniousness. Yet, for all the anti-caste rhetoric we have been subjected to these past few months, nothing substantial has emerged to assuage bruised Dalit consciousness and offer a way out of the vicious cycle of caste-based violence that has undeniably increased in recent times. Hence, while the run up to Durban has put the international spotlight on the Dalit issue, there has been no internal soul-searching on the question."

The Christian demand to include caste as a form of racism aims at overcoming the resistance of modern educated Dalits to convert to Christianity. Indeed, the American pediatrician, Michael Bamshad's recent claim about the European paternity of upper caste Indians and Asian paternity of the lower castes was a pathetic attempt to provide a 'scientific' link between race and caste. Since the study was shoddily executed, its co-authors dissociated themselves from it when challenged by fellow academics. Its purpose, of course, was to equate caste and racial discrimination, so that the Indian Government could be compelled under international pressure to extend the benefits of reservations in education and jobs to Dalit Christians.

(source: Dalits through the looking glass - By Sandhya Jain). Refer to Jesus Christ: Artifice for Aggression - By Sita Ram Goel

Refer to Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress - By Howard Zinn

Nuclear Weapons Apartheid  
The West's Divine rights to Nuclear weapons?

"The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children." -  William Leahy  - I Was There,  p. 441.

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It has often been noted that the total destruction of that city (Hiroshima and Nagasaki three days later) would not have been acceptable to the American people outside of the context of an intensive propaganda campaign to dehumanize the Japanese. Nearly 60 years later the US government still relies on nuclear weapons, and their development still relies on a culture steeped in Racism.

Between 1946 and 1958 the U.S. exploded 67 atomic and hydrogen bombs at Bikini and Enewetok. In 1954 the U.S. tested a bomb near the island of Rongelap. The fallout from the test was so heavy it fell to the ground like snow, and the children of Rongelap played in it. No warning had been issued by the military. The Atomic Energy Committee's Advisory Committee did not consider Rongelap a tragedy so much as an opportunity. They saw, "an opportunity for a useful genetic study of the effects on these people." The effects included women giving birth to babies so deformed as to be unrecognizable as human.

As early as June 26, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's soon to be Prime Minister announced 

"As long as the world is constituted as it is, every country will have to devise and use the latest devices for its protection. I have no doubt India will develop her scientific researches and I hope Indian scientists will use the atomic force for constructive purposes. But if India is threatened, she will inevitably try to defend herself by all means at her disposal."

A second series of tests, called Operation Shakti was carried out in Pokhran on May 11 and 13, 1998. After the blasts, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced that this was "India's due, the right of one-sixth of humankind".

(source: Nuclear Weapons Apartheid  - fguide.org). Also Refer to Against Nuclear Apartheid - By Jaswant Singh - foreign affairs.org and India and weapons of mass destruction and  Hiroshima: Was it necessary?  Refer to Jesus Christ: Artifice for Aggression - By Sita Ram Goel

Dalit (Oppressed) Christians - Twice Discriminated

There are 200 million dalits in India who form 20% of the total Indian population.

Conversion to Christianity has not redeemed 19 million Dalit Christians from social discrimination and untouchability. It has only added to their misery. Conversion disqualifies a dalit Christian a whole lot of constitutionally guaranteed protection and privileges. The dalits accepted the new faith in Jesus Christ with some hope that they would regain their lost humanity and they would be considered as God’s children. But in reality, it is only a dream. As Christians, we continue to suffer and live all human misery both in the society and in the church.

The church in India is a dalit church, because 70% of India ’s 25 million Christians are dalits. Although dalits form the majority in all these churches, yet their place and influence in these churches is minimal or even insignificant. Their presence is totally eclipsed by the power of the upper-caste Christians who are only 30% of the Christian population. This is all the more true in the case of the Catholic Church where such discrimination is strongly felt. In the Catholic Church, the dalits form the majority, almost 70%: but it is the higher caste-people, only 30% of church population, who control the Church by pre-emptying the key position. The majority of the catholic bishops and clergy, the religious and lay leaders, come from the upper caste. One can say that this 30%, the upper caste, occupy the 90% of the administration and leadership of the church. Thus the dalits are pushed aside and reduced to insignificance in their own homeland.

Every one in India knows that the fate of a Dalit is the same whether a person is Hindu or Christian or Buddhist or Muslim. In general, the social and economical condition of a Dalit Christian is in no way better than that of a Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist Dalit.

(source: dalitchristians.com).

Church in India Guilty for Miserable condition of Dalit Christians

The Poor Christian Liberation Movement is of the opinion that the Church authorities in India have not done justice to the marginalised Christians. The “Poor Christian Liberation Movement” PCLM President RL Francis stated that several Dalits have embraced Christianity for better and equal treatment but the despite conversion their conditions have not changed. The Dalit Christians are still victims of discrimination with in the Church.

The PCLM pointed out that Dalits or the socially underprivileged questions the church leadership for demanding special treatment for them they are treated badly Stating that Dalit Christians accounted for nearly 70 percent of India ’s Christian population, the PCLM, a Christian organization, accused high caste Christians of exploiting them.

 

Blatant discrimination in Christianity. Separate graves for White Christians & Dalit Christians in Kerala, India.

Refer to  UK child sex abuse is rife a National epidemic

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The church leadership ‘exploit the poverty and unemployment” among the Dalits to convert them to Christianity.

“But despite a wide network of (Christian) missionary schools and colleges, most of Dalit Christians are illiterate and living in utter poverty because the convent schools are busy catering to the educational needs of rich and high caste people”, the statement further mentioned. "Same is the case with job opportunities and entrepreneurship development. Dalit Christians are being denied all these facilities while the church leadership continues to flourish by usurping vast foreign funding and real estate resources," Francis charged.

(source: The Dalit Christians are still victims of discrimination with in the Church
).

Refer to I was born Catholic, Now a follower of Hinduism - By David Cardozo aka Vivek Bharat. Watch video - Christian Missionary Misdeeds in India

Is Christianity a solid monolith? 

"Caste" was an old weapon of missionaries who established the conversion business in India .
 

In India every debate on conversion to Christianity ends with Hindu society's caste-based "poison of divisions". Missionaries and their supporters present conversion as the only "antidote" available. And missionaries are "doctors," hell bent on administering that antidote! And our "secularists" have been repeating it.  

"Caste" was an old weapon of missionaries who established the conversion business in India. 

Missionaries' typical answers are well known. In India, "conversion is the best solution for caste-based differences within Hindu society;" in America, "barbaric tribes had to be civilized and spiritualized." They always proffer local issues to justify conversions. In India's case, most proponents of Christianity's "monolithic unity" and Hinduism’s "caste- based divisions" invoke B.R. Ambedkar to remain politically correct while attacking the faith! 

But all fail to explain why Ambedkar did not convert to Caldwell 's "great brotherhood" called Christianity. 

In fact, B R Ambedkar wanted to send a strong message through his religious conversion. After examining Christianity, he wrote in 1938: 

"caste governs the life of Christians as much as it does the life of the Hindus. There are Brahmin Christians and non-Brahmin Christians. Among non-Brahmin Christians there are Maratha Christians, Mahar Christians, Mang Christians and Bhangi Christians. Similarly in the south there are Pariah Christians, Malla Christians and Madiga Christians. They would not inter-marry. They would not inter-dine" (Selected Speeches and Writings, Vol. 5, Government of Maharashtra, 1989, p. 445-78). 

Is Christianity a superb monolith? If so, since when? Since its inception or through "spiritualism"? Since the First Council of Nicaea, when Emperor Constantine decided, at sword-point, what should and should not be the tenets of 'official' Christianity? Or since the Second Vatican Council, when it was decided to establish the supremacy of Catholicism once again? Christians are not one; they are divided into separate churches and traditions. Over the centuries, Christianity has divided into numerous denominations. Each denomination has its own distinctive beliefs or practices, yet we hold them to be branches of the same religion. But when it comes to Hindu society, every Tom, Dick or Harry talks about caste and asks us "where is the common unity?" as if there is no common thread of beliefs among Hindus! 

Although missionaries never talk about their internal divisions openly, conversion always happens to a particular denomination, to a particular church. One can never get converted to "Christianity". He or she can only become a member of a particular church.  When former British Prime Minister Tony Blair converted to the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican community and its church vehemently protested. 

Why do street missionaries never talk about their internal divisions? This is an age-old strategy. The famous Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis (1898 - 1963) who wrote Mere Christianity, in 1940s, reminded believers about this strategy: 

"our divisions should never be discussed except in the presence of those who have already come to believe that there is one God and that Jesus Christ is his only Son"! 

Pope John Paul II once called Protestant missionaries "rapacious wolves" for converting Catholics! So much for "monolithic unity"! In the second week of August 2007, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Methodists, Pentecostals, Orthodox, Evangelicals (sounds like caste names!) gathered to map a "common religious conversion code" in France . The code, which has to be finalized in a year or two, was named "Ethical Conversion Code".  

"Conversion is a controversial issue not only in inter-religious relations, but in intra-Christian relations as well," admitted Dr. Hans Ucko, World Council of Churches programme executive and one of the organizers of the meeting. 

So much for "monolithic unity" and "great brotherhood"! 


(source: Castes and Conversions: Is Christianity a solid monolith? - By G. Anil Kumar).

Is this the " Superior " western civilization?

A spectre is haunting our earth—the spectre of Revenge. Revenge for the crimes of nations and peoples in the past. Time has not requieted it; nor has it suffered from amnesia. Like an evil spirit, it hovers over the earth. 
The anger is directed against the West. The West has been leading the world for three long centuries. It wants now to make its rule a hereditary right. But what is its record? What is its reputation? How does it deserve this great honour?

The last slave ship left the African coast in 1807. Nearly two centuries have passed. And yet the soul of Africa remains restless. It is not pacified. Africa cries for revenge and reparation for the worst crimes in human history.

The Chinese too want their revenge. They have not forgotten the opium wars thrust upon them by Britain . And India ? It was made into a wasteland by the invaders. We can never forget it. May be, revenge is not what we want. We want our honour restored.

And the Jews? There is nothing comparable to the holocaust in barbarism. They have been subject to the longest hate and persecution in history.

The world is full of horrible memories of high injustices—of unjust wars, colonial plunder and oppression, imperial conquests, racial atrocities. These have left deep scars on the racial memory of peoples. They cannot forget. How can the Red-Indians ever forget the genocide of their race and the destruction of the Aztec, Inca and Maya civilisations? Writes an authority on the Mayas: “The great men of Athens would not have felt out of place in a gathering of Maya priests and rulers.”

How can the original inhabitants of Australia and New Zealand forget the decimation of their peoples? Every nation, which was colonised, has a bitter tale to tell. And the Christian church was at the bottom of it all—providing the real inspiration. It has given its blessing to every Christian enterprise inspired by the Devil

 Dr. S Radhakrishnan writes:

“The history of Christianity illustrates the tragic effects of a unique intolerant and exclusive truth.”

Resentment is building up like a volcano. It is bound to erupt. Terrorism is the first major outbreak of the pent up anger. America has come to know how it is to live in constant fear. But injustices continue to thrive. Why? Because those who perpetrate the evils even today believe that they can get away with murder. That is what the white hunters thought when they hunted for the black men in the jungles of Africa . They never thought that the spirit of African will rise one day and demand reparation. And yet these men who hunted other men were “Christians”. 

It was their claim that Christianity is all about love and compassion for humanity! They did not think of the African as a human being. The church propagated that the black men were the sons of the Devil.

 Inequality, said Martin Luther, author of the Reformation, is a “natural order.” It still is a natural order to the West. Ask Wall Street!

The Semitic faiths were marked for their blindness and cruelty. This is no reflection on Christ. He was truly a man of God. The fault lay with the church. Today it is back again to its aggressive posture.

 W E H Lecky (1838 -1903) the great Irish historian of Europe , writes:

“What strikes us most in considering the medieval tortures is not so much their diabolic barbarity…(but) the artistic skill they displayed.” 

And the Inquisition was at the back of this art! In every prison, the crucifix and the rack (a torture instrument) stood side by side!

Torture was abolished in the teeth of opposition from the church, but most of the atrocities came back in full force with the blessings of the church during the colonial period. Although empires have gone, the predatory instinct of Western civilisation is still around.

Today the church wants to convert we Hindus—we who have never done a harm to a foreign nation in our history—into Christianity! Why? Because, says the church, we live in “darkness”! Because our gods are devils!  This is the record of Christianity! And it calls itself “superior!”

(source: Is this the " Superior " western civilisation? - By M S N Menon ). Refer to Anger Is No Substitute For Substance, MR.Kancha Ilaiah - vigilonline.com

Oppression of Dalit Christians in India

Open letter to Bishops from Joseph Pulikkunnel, Director of Indian Institute of Christian Studies.

Dear Bishops,

When your Graces And Lordships, and your predecessors converted Dalits from the Hindu Society, the main attraction offered to them was that there was no caste discrimination in the Christian society and that they would be treated equally as brothers in Christ. It was with this false hope of an egalitarian status within the Christian community that the poor Dalits converted themselves to Christianity. If they are still Dalits, the question is who has been oppressing them of late.

When the father of the Constitution provided for the Dalits' reservation, Hindus, who formed the vast majority, of the population, accepted in principle the reservation for Dalits. They were surrendering the equality of opportunity enshrined in the Constitution in favour of the Dalits as a compensation for the ill-treatment their forefathers did to that community. Here it may be remembered that this charitable disposition was not shown by the white Christians towards the black Christians in America.

If converted Christians are "Dalits" today, you are certainly the oppressors. You were more interested, in the numbers game increasing the number of Christians in the census reports.

(source:
Open letter to Bishops from Joseph Pulikkunnel, Director of Indian Institute of Christian Studies - hvk.org). Refer to Mexicans Immigrants do the menial jobs in USA - Who will take the worst U.S. jobs? and Basic justice for immigrants who do the dirty work.

Refer to Jesus Christ: Artifice for Aggression - By Sita Ram Goel and Refer to QuickTime trailer and Part One of the film The God Awful Truth

Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com and Refer to Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress - By Howard Zinn

Amar Chandel has written about the UN Conference in Durban, Africa: " We do not have to look westwards to get rid of such aberrations. The solution has to be found indigenously because the caste system is peculiar to India. Some erudite social scientists have gone to ridiculous lengths to equate it with racism (“the Brahminical order holds the white cow as sacred but not the black buffalo”) but such hair-splitting will not help the victims of the varna divide in any way. Nor can age-old prejudices be removed by official diktats or reverse discrimination. Honest and painstaking work has to be done on both sides of the divide to win over the confidence of all sections of society. That long-haul effort can be better made in the heartland of India than in the smoke-filled conference halls of South Africa. "

(source:
Casting caste effects in Durban winds - By Amar Chandel)

U.S. sticks to its guns on Durban meet - The Hindu (The Bush administration also took exception to the language on slavery and the call of some in the African continent for reparations from those responsible for the slave trade).


Tony Karon of Time magazine: "In the end, though, the debate is shaped by the old divides of North and South. It's easy for Westerners to be smug and self-satisfied, having convinced themselves that they've eliminated racism. But for the most part, the powerful industrialized nations have not been racism's victims, but its perpetrators. And as easy as it is to beat up on India for denying caste oppression or the Sudan for its continued slavery, the poppycock of Britain's "slavery is a crime now that we're no longer practicing it; it was simply regrettable when we were doing it" reflects the arrogance of power — the West sets the agenda of what is admissible, simply because it can."

(source:
Moral Musical Chairs at the Racism Conference - Tony Karon)
 Refer to Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress - By Howard Zinn

'Dalit' twist to textbook row  

“Thank God I am black. White people will have a lot to answer for at the last judgement.” 

            - Desmond Tutu (1931- ) Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa

(source: Christianity, Apartheid and Racialism - heretication.info).

Refer to The Criminal History of Papacy and Sex, lies and videotape: turmoil at the Vatican and Vatican forced to acknowledge debauched behaviour of priests and nuns and Victims of pedophile Christian priests and Pedophiles and Priests: Anatomy of a Contemporary Crisis - By Philip Jenkins.

In 1996 Charles Davidson, a devout Christian (R) Senator from Alabama, said that slavery had been good for blacks, and pointed out that the practice had biblical approval, citing the traditional proof-texts such as Leviticus 25:44 and 1 Timothy 6:1 . As he well knew, he still held the traditional Christian line, while almost all other Christians had abandoned it and even largely forgotten about it.

(source: Christianity and Slavery - heretication.info).  Refer to Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust - By Kevin Annett and documentary Unrepentant and Canada's Genocide

***  

Racism is alive and well in America?

An outspoken planning commissioner has agreed to resign after she caused a stir by asking whether Hindu women urinate in public as part of their faith, township officials said.  

Catherine Johnson, 71, stunned residents this month by claiming neighbors told her several women urinated outside Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (BAPS) Temple during its 2000 groundbreaking -- and asking whether it was some sort of ritual. The comments came during an emotionally charged meeting Dec. 3 about the $5 million plans to expand Hindu Temple of Canton, one of three in the community that serves Metro Detroit's growing Indian community.

(source: Demented Official's remark riles Hindus - By Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News).

***

"Their reason for killing and destroying such an infinite number of souls is that the Christians have an ultimate aim, which is to acquire gold, and to swell themselves with riches in a very brief time and thus rise to a high estate, disproportionate to their merits. It should be kept in mind that their insatiable greed and ambition, the greatest ever seen in the world, is the cause of their villainies."  

                          - Bishop Bartolomé de Las Casas, from Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1542). 

***

India's internal affairs are increasingly witnessing an interventionist American nexus. Even as the Supreme Court asks the Union Government to justify giving so-called 'Dalit Christians' a share in the quota for Scheduled Castes, it may be instructive to see how US policy has inveigled itself into our domestic discourse, while maintaining severe pressure upon its own Hindu citizens of Indian origin.  

The manner in which these issues play out is enlightening. Harvard professor Michael Witzel's (Refer to chapter on Aryan Invasion Theory) supporters in the California textbook battle include two evangelical bodies: Dalit Freedom Network and Dalit Solidarity Forum in the USA. DFN president Joseph D'Souza also heads the All-India Christian Council; he appealed to a US Congressional Committee to get 'Scheduled Caste' status for India's 'Dalit' Christians.    

 

      

Harvard professor Michael Witzel, Ms. Nanci Ricks and anti-Hindu Arizona Republican Congressman Trent Franks.

India's internal affairs are increasingly witnessing an interventionist American nexus.

Refer to What Every "Ugly American" Must Know about the "Civilized British - www.larouchepac.com

Refer to Iraq: The Hidden Cost and Plot to Kill Barak Obama and Ku Klux Klan warns race war if Obama wins

Watch video - Christian Missionary Misdeeds in India and For Cruelty inflicted by Christianity - Watch Constantine's Sword movie - By Oren Jacoby

Refer to The  Genocidal war being waged against Iraq and its people by the Anglo-American imperialists - Iraq Body Count. Refer to Richistan USA - Is the US Heading for 'Developing Nations' Inequality Levels? - By Paul Harris Watch Why we fight (2005) documentary - Imperial and technological arrogance of world's Super power: describes the rise and maintenance of the United States military-industrial complex and its involvement in the wars led by the United States during the last fifty years, and in particular in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The film alleges that in every decade since World War II, the American public has been told a lie to bring it into war to fuel the military-economic machine, which in turn maintains American dominance in the world. 

Refer to George Carlin and The American Dream and Notes From Inside New Orleans and Windfall: How Conservatives, Contractors, and Developers Cashed In on Katrina - motherjones.com.

***

Refer to ISRO’s top scientist fell prey to Congress-CIA connivance – I and ISRO’s top scientist fell prey to Congress-CIA connivance – II  and ISRO’s top scientist fell prey to Congress-CIA connivance – III - By Madhu Kishwar

Also refer to Fury of the Meekest = By Brahma Chellaney

This utilisation of converts by overseas co-religionists for covert agendas fuels Hindu anger against conversions. The DFN's mission is to partner Dalits in their "quest for religious freedom" (obviously these are non-Hindu Dalits), and includes upholding the "legacy of Mother Teresa who showed god's love in word and deed... and to follow the command of Jesus Christ who called us to be 'the salt of the earth' and 'the light of the world'." 

 Its board of directors includes only two Indians, both Christians: Mr Joseph D'Souza and Mr Kumar Swamy. The rest are white Americans, namely, Ms Melody Divine, a former adviser to anti-Hindu Arizona Congressman Trent Franks; Mr Peter Dance; Mr Bob Beltz, Ms Nanci Ricks, Mr Richard Sweeney, Mr Cliff Young, Mr Ken Heulitt and Mr Gene Kissinger (chairman).

The DSF-USA is run by the Rector of St Alban's Church, Oakland , New Jersey. 

It works closely with Christian Aid, which sent a fax to the California State Board of Education (SBE) from the Church premises, but tries to conceal the fact that it is a proselytising group. Mr Lars Martin Fosse, a signatory of Prof Witzel's letter to the SBE, appealed to Mr John Dayal of the All-India Christian Council for assistance in their fight with the Hindu community that is demanding proper representation of its faith in American textbooks. Sure enough, DFN and DSF-USA jumped into the fray.

(source: 'Dalit' twist to textbook row - By Sandhya Jain - dailypioneer.com - July 27th dailypioneer.com - columnists). 

Refer to Mexicans Immigrants do the menial jobs in USA - Who will take the worst U.S. jobs? and Basic justice for immigrants who do the dirty work

Refer to Iraq: The Hidden Cost and Iraq ’s erasure and Asian racial delusions - By Dr Gautam Sen - The Americans set out to destroy Iraq, which is why they began a calculated genocidal war against it. The mere removal of Saddam Hussein, whom they themselves had put into power decades earlier and nurtured cynically, was clearly inadequate for their goal of dismantling Iraq comprehensively. The moment the Americans destroyed Iraq ’s museums and libraries it was clear that the contemporary descendants of the Mongol scourge, Hulegu (destroyer of Baghdad in 1251AD) had arrived. The killing of Iraqis on a massive scale by Bush and his Leftist British minions has been accompanied by the targeted elimination of professionals. The destruction of Iraqi civilisation is being completed by erasing its historical records and cultural artefacts, the conduits of collective historic memory. The brutal Romans, though more civilised than modern Americans, would have recognised the imperial logic of scorched earth to secure rule).  

America: An Enlightened Nation?

 

According to adherents.com - 82 % of Americans are Christians. 

The hypocrisy of Fundamentalist Christians is that they believe that abortion is unacceptable and is seen as murder. Yet thousands of innocent children and women have been killed in the occupation of Iraq .

The Americans set out to destroy Iraq, which is why they began a calculated genocidal war against it. 

The moment the Americans destroyed Iraq ’s museums and libraries it was clear that the contemporary descendants of the Mongol scourge, Hulegu (destroyer of Baghdad in 1251AD) had arrived. The killing of Iraqis on a massive scale by Bush and his Leftist British minions has been accompanied by the targeted elimination of professionals. The destruction of Iraqi civilisation is being completed by erasing its historical records and cultural artefacts, the conduits of collective historic memory. The brutal Romans, though more civilised than modern Americans, would have recognised the imperial logic of scorched earth to secure rule.  

Refer to Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse Refer to Campus murders of Indian students in US cause for concern Refer to Anger Is No Substitute For Substance, MR.Kancha Ilaiah - vigilonline.com

***

India rejects inclusion of caste

Maintaining that the United Nations conference was not the appropriate forum for engaging in "social engineering", Minister of State for External Affairs and leader of the Indian delegation Omar Abdullah said, "We are here to ensure that states do not condone or encourage regressive social attitudes."

"We haven't come to Durban to engage in social engineering within member states," he said, and described the campaign by dalit activists and non-governmental organisations from India in the run-up to the conference as a "highly exaggerated and misleading propaganda", which was often based on anecdotal evidence regarding caste-based discrimination in India. "We in India have faced this evil squarely. The issue has remained at the top of our national agenda," he said.

"As one of the oldest civilizations of the world, India is fully conscious of its responsibility," he said.

(source: Racism conference: India rejects inclusion of caste). Refer to The Last War: Racism, Spirituality, and the Future of Civilization - By Mark L. Perry Oxford). Refer to Jesus Christ: Artifice for Aggression - By Sita Ram Goel

Reeta Sharma "with the Durban conference on racism going full swing, the word racism is talk of the universe today. Racism was born and reared, fed and patted only in the First World. Thankfully, it has not infected the Third World. It is another matter that today First World countries are itching to include casteism into racism. Cases like that of Lawrence or Rohit Duggal eventually made us sit up and think about the racially discriminating role of the English police. Our Group conducted specific studies and we discovered shocking trends. For instance, the English police was not only indulging in racial acts in handling such cases but also the police staff which was not white was being discriminated against within their set-ups. To our horror, the judiciary was also indulging in racism. For a similar crime the quantum of punishment to the blacks was far higher than the white criminals. We substantiated the truth by collecting data of case studies”, revealed Suresh Grover. There is an increasing awareness amongst Asians in England about the racial threats. This has resulted in un-masking of this centuries’ old disease crippling the English society, quite like the rest of the West. " 

(source:
When British cops were found to be racist - by Reeta Sharma).  

Rajeev Srinivasan writes: "Consider the Indian side of the picture: when the human toll of the World Trade Centre is added up, the 250+ Indians are nowhere remembered in the US media. This is the second largest group of victims, after Americans themselves, but there is no mention of Indian losses." 

(source: Other people's wars: let them fight them - By Rajeev Srinivasan)

Indian officials are also letting other western journalists know that they resent the repeated description of India as a "Hindu," "Hindu-dominated," or "largely-Hindu" country. "We are a secular country where all religions are equal. No one in India describes the United States as a "White, Christian nation," one official fumed.

(source: Times of India 11/1/01). Watch An Invasion through Conversion - videoyahoo.com

Hinduism branded as casteist and brahmaniccal?

Tribal Children Will Become Hindu Priests  

In Kerala, 14 Tribals are being trained for Hindu priesthood along with others from various castes.  

Kalpetta (Kerala) July 30, 2007: At a time when the rigid traditions of some of Kerala’s temples have come in for scrutiny, a Hindu organisation here has taken the radical step of training young boys from all castes, including tribals, for priesthood.  

As part of the move, 25 children, including 14 from tribal families, had been initiated into Vedic studies by performing upanayanam, which, according to Hindu traditions, marks the entry of a boy into Brahminhood.

The programme, supported by the
Kerala Kshetra Samrakshna Samiti at Pongini Devi temple near here, has been structured after the gurukula system, whereby pupils are tutored on Saturdays and Sundays so that their regular schooling is not hampered.

 

Hinduism branded as casteist and brahmaniccal?

As part of the move, 25 children, including 14 from tribal families, had been initiated into Vedic studies by performing upanayanam, which, according to Hindu traditions, marks the entry of a boy into Brahminhood.

***

The selected children are taught Sanskrit, mantras, Vedic astrology and rituals and routines to be followed by priests performing poojas in temples by a team of Vedic scholars and teachers led by Payyannur Sreedharan Namboodiri.

“A prime reason that made us think in this direction was difficulty in getting a sufficient number of santhis (as priests are known in Malayalam), especially in the northern Malabar region of Kerala,” O T Balan Nambiar, convener of the programme, said.

“The support for the venture from all sections has been encouraging. Many leading Namboodiris (Kerala Brahmins) have volunteered their services for the venture.

“Our endeavour is to safeguard Hindu practices and traditions. But unlike in the past, they cannot be secured without the active support and participation of the entire spectrum of Hindu society,” Nambiar said.

In the normal course, Vedic studies would take 12 years. But this course had been structured in such a way that the children will be taught the basics in just three years, its organisers said.

In all, there were 65 applicants from whom 25 children were chosen for the free course.

(source: Tribal Children Will Become Hindu Priests  - mumbaimirror.com).

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