From: gagrawal@cs.tamu.edu (Gopal Agrawal)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Down with Psuedo-hindu-protectors...
Date: 11 Dec 1992 21:59:31 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Department, Texas A&M University
NNTP-Posting-Host: neuron.tamu.edu

In article <1992Dec11.201308.23451@crd.ge.com> srinivas@vision.crd.ge.com (Chukka Srinivas) writes:
>
> For that matter, how much is VHP/RSS is worried
> about ordinary hindus? And how much it really
> cares for human life, be it Hindu or Muslim?
>
> If they are really worried about Hindus,
> they would have mobilized people to address more
> important problems like food, shelter and better
> living conditions and not about temples, mosques,

These psuedo-hindu-protectors (a phrase at last to 
combat the phrase "psuedo-secular") can only concentrate 
on religious trivia.

The silent revolution against the more crucial issues
like caste-system, dowry, female infanticide etc. is 
actually being carried out by the secular (ok, psuedo-
secular if that makes you fundies happy) forces and 
hopefully these will be the cause of rise of Indian 
culture to more humane levels (provided that india 
is not already sent down the drain by the protectors 
of indian culture). 

All those saffron clad VHP members harp upon how people
are converting to other religions. Have they ever wondered
"Why" ? Can any of you psuedo-hindu-protectors tell me why
none of them have ever addressed these issues that are nibbling
away at hinduism?  Why is it that the first people be disgusted
by the shortcomings of religions and then to address 
these issues are invariably from among the non-religious 
college teenagers in Jeans and T-shirts listening to 
rock-n-roll. Who in your opinion is actually protecting 
Hinduism -- the saffron clad psuedo-hindu-protectors or 
these teenagers ? 

> and so-called 'Islamic opression for centuries'
> (As if all the hindus in India are going thru
> this mental trauma because of this oppression!).
>
>-srinivas.

I agree. I have received several e-mails telling me 
the about the anguish and mental humiliation that 
Hindus feel because of the Babri masjid/Ram temple.
Its really funny that they expect me to believe that 
some historical facts from long ago would cause me 
mental torture now. I have yet to meet any friend of
mine who's disturbed by Babars invasion 400 years ago. 
If the whole world was like these fundies, then Japan
would have been seeking revenge on US, India should be 
seeking revenge on UK, and so on. 

Notice how these psuedo-hindu-protectors keep shifting 
their reasons for this incident. First it is the anguish
suffered by us due to Babars attack on Hindus 400 years 
ago. Next, it is just a symbolic fight against Muslim
fanaticism. Then, it is not a symbolic fight but a matter 
of Hindu faith that Ram's birth place can be pinpointed 
within an accuracy of a nanometer....and so on.

All I can ask is that why go for SYMBOLIC FIGHTS ? IF YOU SEE
DESTRUCTIVE FUNDAMENTALISM THEN WHY NOT ATTACK IT HEAD ON ?  
That's what secularism is about.  It does not tolerate fundamentalism. 
It does not tolerate becoming a fundmanetalist to fight off another's
fundamentalism. That would be replacing one evil with another. 

The only reason that fundamentalism has not been attacked head on
by anyone is that it wouldn't serve any political purposes. 

peace,
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