SG OwnBlog

This is not my regular type of post. We know from evidence that Mandirs and Stupas (and other monuments like universities) were demolished/occupied and often even replaced by invaders. Several historical accounts both contemporary and today acknowledge this. The legendary Sita Ram Goel made one of the first comprehensive study of the destroyed temples that dot the landscape of the Indian subcontinent. However, the list of these temples or other buildings are difficult to find (other than his original book). There is another book by Prafulla Goradia, namely ' Hindu Masjids ' that speaks specifically about Hindu temples that are currently under occupation. The main problem is that this information is difficult to find. Unless one is a scholar, or has a special inclination towards reading history - one cannot be expected to stumble upon this on their own. Hence, it is important that a easy to find repository of all monuments with a wound is recorded for posterity. My own hu

I came across this post by the reknowned author, William Darymple on Pakistan promising to renovate and return 400 temples to the Hindu community . Something of a contrast... Pakistan to restore, hand over 400 Hindu temples https://t.co/ufTdlW3joH via @indiatoday — William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) November 12, 2019 That is great. However, there was something problematic about the tweet. Notice the first line - 'Something of a contrast'. The inference is hard to miss. The fact that the Indian Supreme Court had given its verdict recently to return the Ram Janmabhoomi to the Hindus stands (as per William) in direct contrast to Pakistan returning its temples to Hindus. The moral signalling is relevant. Hindu majority India is handing 'Muslim' places of worship to Hindus, while Pakistan being a Muslim majority nation is  transferring Hindu places of worship back to Hindus. Katas Raj Mandir Comples Indian nationalists will take a serious offence at the p

The Ram Mandir verdict was pronounced by the Supreme Court of India yesterday. The judgement was decisive as it clearly asked the state to handover the erstwhile disputed site to the Hindus for the building of a Ram Mandir and the Muslims to be given a 5 acre land for the construction of a Masjid if they need one. Both sides seem to have accepted the judgement so far. Of course, neither side could do much in any case. The judgement was unanimous, all five judges pronounced the verdict in favor of the Ram Mandir and hence the chance of a review petition by any party was unlikely to be entertained by the Court. Besides, the Hindus got what they wanted (mostly) as they have restored ownership to the 2.77 acres of land where the previous Mandir was supposed to have been standing. Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthaya, Thailand I will not go into archaeological evidence again to justify the verdict. The court has done a decent job in noting the reports that were provided to it by the ASI

Kite flying has always fascinated me. Every year, especially during Makar Sankranthi, kites are flown all over India to celebrate the beginning of Spring, end of Winter, the God Surya etc. The religious significance of the day is varied - and various Hindu narratives converge here. What remains is the beautiful way it is celebrated. When I was a kid, I never got around to flying kites except for some of the occasions like these. But the universal nature of the festival allowed people from even other religions to participate in great numbers. Kite flying and its associated Hindu origin was largely frowned upon in many Muslim countries. The Taliban had banned it in Kabul because it went against the Islamic principles. Even Pakistan had briefly banned flying kites in the Panjab state where it was quite popular because of the use of the Chinese sharp manja. But they turned around the ban last December and this was celebrated widely - especially in the city of Lahore. Considering th

Christian evangelicals are similar to parasites [1] . The similarities are simply astounding. Among all predatory religions, Evangelical Christianity has done, by far, the greatest harm to humankind [2] . Like leeches, the Evangelical sucks the lifeblood of an unchristian society till it descends either into chaos and incessant civil conflict or the relegation of the culture to the pages of history   (Bowden, 1985) . Even in the 21 st century this unashamed activity continues   (Bhosle, 2003) . [3] Source: https://www.economist.com/node/21543526 Evangelicals usually have a similar methodology when it comes to proselytization. Like parasites, the target is usually one belonging to the most vulnerable section of society. This does not necessarily mean that they try harvesting only the most down trodden of the society   (Kelly, 2001) . And most certainly, the objective is never the upliftment of the persons involved. The target groups may, for example, belong to ethnic minorities

I have seen various types of people in life. From armchair warriors to snobs etc etc. Religious or ethnic hatred is one of the most common that I have seen. But so far all of those had some political ideology mixed with faith. For example I have mixed with conservative Hindus who did not like Muslims, and fanatical Muslims baying for Hindu/Sikh/Jain/Buddhist blood. But the Hindu was invariably a Hindutvadi or a BJP supporter or something of that sort. The Muslim would also be an Islamist. This time I met a third kind - pure hatred, that does not derive it's strength from any political ideology. This beautiful lady hates Muslims without having any affinity to the Hindutva ideology and not even any to Modi or RSS or the like. I am yet to come to terms with the exceptional exception but I will produce her answers to some of my questions, without any modification. I, of course, don't endorse any of this nor do I insinuate that she is a hate monger. I don't wish to portray he

Recently in India all nutjobs from across the political spectrum are busy painting terrorists with religious brushes. The ultimate motivation for this action is unknown to me. But let's briefly discuss how evil the Hindus have become. In the last few years some of the vilest crimes committed are by Hindus. These are Samjhauta Express Bombing Malegaon blasts version 2008 - apparently terrorists have a certain fixation with this place Mecca Masjid bombing - This mosque is in India and not in Mecca I could not find any major involvement other than these. For an evil militant Hindu civilization, such poor record is disturbing. But anyway - let's examine them one by one. Check out the captions - you are looking at one of Indian media's judgements passed against an individual to increase sales. Note terms - Hindu terror and 'The Believer'. The movie is about a neo Nazi fanatic who likes to attack Jews. Check out the poster here. I did not find any similar

Note - By the blanket term - 'Hindu' I mean all Indian religions. Blaming Hindus for everything is easy. 'Secular' people and their minions keep trumpeting the charges over and over again with impunity. Because they very well know that Hindus won't retaliate by blowing up their houses, or kidnapping their children. They won't even cut the hand of the offenders or even beat them up in broad daylight. The girls won't be raped, the property won't be stolen. To cut the long story short, all the Hindus will do is cry foul and forget a week later. That is what has been happening for centuries anyway. A few notable incidents happened. Pakistan is a great source of knowledge in this regard. The search for an Indian Jew ended in 712 AD when bin Kasim conquered Sindh. Since then Hindus, especially the meeker ones were found to be convenient scapegoats. After defeating Dahir somehow the blame was put on (no prize for guessing) Dahir and blamed his Brahmanistic