From: sri@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (a.natarajan)
Subject: AYODHYAA NAAMA NAGAREE, KAAKUTHSTHA PARIPAALITHAA !
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 19:42:25 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Keywords: "hindhu", muslim, pseudo-hindhu, pseudo-muslim, chodo saNdai!

        "Even though vanquished, he could argue still;
         Words of learned length and thundering sound
         Amazed the rustics that ranged around!"
                     ----  Portrait of the village school-master
                     in Oliver Goldsmith's "The Deserted Village".

Ladies, Gentlemen (and others):

In a moment of emotional low, I posted an  article on  "AYODHYA",
wherein  I  called  this  ancient  and holy city of the Ikshvaaku
dynasty as "unfit to be lived in"! "Courage", they say, "is grace
under pressure."  The  pressures  of the tumult from Ayodhya were
perhaps toooo much on my aging soul and it flinched! Let  me  try
if  I  can gather my wits and speak with my head rather than with
my heart!

Babri was an  old  mosque,  dilapidated  and  unused.  No  muslim
visited  it  for  purposes  of  worship  during  the past several
decades. It stood there as a constant reminder of the conquest of
the  inhabitants  of  that  area  by a Mughal king!  The defeated
inhabitants never forgot their humiliation.  So, one day, someone
sneaked  in  the  idol  of  their valiant god, Sree Raama, a hero
worshiped for his courage, valor, and conduct, who was used as  a
metaphor  for  their religion, into this unused mosque! Some said
that it was at this very EXACT point in space, not a few meters 
here or there, that their god, Sree Raama was given birth to by 
Queen KauSalyaa!

"kauSalyaa ajanayath raamam Sarva lakshaNa Samyutham" - Vaalmeeki.

Thereafter, a faithful few continually worshiped their  installed
deity  and  life  should have gone on peacefully in hoary Ayodhya
uneventfully!  That  was  NOT  to  be!   There  was  a  continual
animosity between the two groups, though they both were of Indian
stock! The converted  Indians  (Muslims)  and  the  non-converted
Indians   (collectively  known  as  "Hindus")  harbored  distrust
against each other and competed for power - economic, social, and
political  power.  The politicians, whether they were Congress-I,
BJP, or any other, played this rift to their advantage.  What you
saw was the result of this. The problems underlying this rift and
animosity are many.

o  There are multiple laws legislated for governing each community.

o  The judiciary is weak, inept, and inefficient.

o  The electorate is uneducated, easily manipulatable, economically
   dependent, and highly pseudo-religious with vague and ambiguous
   religious beliefs and practices.

o  The legislature is corrupt, often times inefficient and thrives
   on communal disharmony.

o  Much of the constabulary is ruthless, atrocious, and corrupt.

If one looked at what had happened in Ayodhya,  one  saw  that
the  system  was reacting to the problems listed above.  "Hindus"
believe that they are sold out. They are angry at the politicians
who  enact  laws  that  are  different for different communities.
They are angry at the judiciary for their  ineptitude.  They  are
also   easily   manipulatable   through  religion  because  their
religious practices and beliefs are  often  vague,  hypocritical,
and  self-destructive  (they  can  be easily manipulated to fight
against each other within their own religion too!)!

The same goes for Muslims too! They want a  "secular"  rule,  but
would  want  laws  enacted  that  are  different  from  the  laws
applicable to all others.  Much like the  Indian  in  the  United
States,  they would want the best of both worlds! They would like
to be citizens of India and enjoy  certain  unfettered  liberties
that  would  have  been  denied  to  them  were they living in an
Islamic country such as Saudi Arabia, though they would also want
to  give  their  loyalties  to  other  Islamic  countries  either
covertly or overtly.  Most of them  have  not  imbibed  the  best
principles  of  Islam  due  to  poor knowledge of their religious
canons.  So, they too are easily manipulatable through religion.

What can any one do in the short and  the  long  run,  given  the
above problems?

The long term solution is of course through education.

The "Hindus" need to understand what "Hinduism" means. (Repeating
that  "it  is  a  way of life", "it is a philosophy", etc. is not
going to be of any help!) Much of the  contents  of  Hinduism  is
obsolete.   When  you  are unable to define something, you have a
major problem.  Statements such as "Hinduism is a religion of the
Vedas" etc. need thorough inspection. (E.g. There is no reference
to Aiyappan or  Maariyamman  in  the  Sruthies. Does that mean
the devotees of these gods are not "Hindus"?) Hence, the term "Hindus"
should include  those that are outside the ambit of Sruthis too. So,
there is work needed to define  the  religion  called  "Hinduism"
before one goes shouting euphorically "hinduthva"!  Does the term
include those who are denied the religious  infrastructure  built
on   Vedas?   Does   it   exclude   those   who  continually  and
systematically violate the vedic laws,  the  smruthies  that  are
supposed  to  be  based on vedas, and those saastraic injunctions
that  are  not  applicable  in  this  day  and  age  (injunctions
pertaining  to  the  conduct  of women and children)?  Unless one
delineates what the word "hinduthva" means, it will be a powerful
"noise"  that  would  whip up the ignorant and the emotional, the
frustrated and the power-hungry into such a state of frenzy  that
it should move every sand of India into mutiny and rage!  Little
positive would result in that noise akin to "jihaad"!

The Muslims need to reform their religious system too!
Already, a small step has been taken by the rulers of the country
where Islam was founded, Saudi Arabia, when they  fired  seven
of their top clergy who were impeding their progress in redefining
their religion! It must be slowly but surely absorbed by Muslims in
India  that  the price for living in a secular country is to live
under a secular law that will be uniformly applied to all.

Therefore,  there  is  a  need   to   re-build   a   new   social
infrastructure  based on educating people to go for a common law,
work toward a common good, etc.

In the short run, each person  and  each  family  should  try  to
improve  their  lot on an independent basis against these odds to
the best of their ability. [ My own sisters  and  my  brother come
to my mind as examples.] They lived in Tamil Nadu at a time when getting
into educational institutes or state-governmental  positions  for
"non-sudra"s was extremely difficult. They kept their goals clear
and worked. The effort was well rewarded. Their  children  attend
the  best  institutions  in  India  and  the  USA, are very broad
minded, and I think will enjoy a full life. The young  Muslim  or
the  "Hindhu"  should  take charge and educate himself or herself
and also educate a few others in the way.  Again, events such  as
the  recent  one in Ayodhya will send a signal to the rulers that
change will be needed.  Ayodhya may teach  everyone  of  us  some
important lesson!

"kaTHanchidhupakaarENa krthEnaikEna thushyathi |
 na SmarthyapakaaraaNaam sathamapi aathmavaththayaa ||"

                        -- AyoDHyaa Kaandam, vaalmeeki raamaayaNam.

[ Sree Raama possessed a unique quality. He had tremendous memory.
Forever did he remember even a single noble deed done to him, small
though that help might have been! However, he was also a forgetful
person! He purged his memory of all evil acts done against him,
though these may have been in the hundreds! He forgot them totally.
No wonder we worship this man as a hero, as a God!]

Respectfully

A. Natarajan at AT&T Bell Labs., New Jersey.