HINDUS WANT PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM POPE FOR INSULTING THEM
Hindu community leaders have urged Sony Corporation to withdraw the newly released “Hanuman: Boy Warrior” video game for PlayStation2, saying it trivializes the highly revered deity of Hinduism.
HINDUS WANT PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM POPE FOR INSULTING THEM
Hindus are asking Pope Benedict to issue a public apology for allegedly insulting them. It was very humiliating to one billion strong Hindus of the world when Pope Benedict referred their God as “just any god”.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, in a letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on March 10 last (published on The Holy See website), said, “In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God. Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai…”
Pope appeared to be trying to distinguish God of Sinai from the “other gods”. We fully agree that the world needs God but it was not necessary to denigrate Hindus to make his point across by apparently referring so unceremoniously our God as “just any god.”
This shocking statement coming from the largest and highly respected religious leader of the world, Pope Benedict, who was a renowned theologian and had served as professor at various German universities, was really disturbing.
BARBARIC ACT
The news of a Muslim TV channel owner beheading his wife didn’t come as a shock. The murder of Aasiya Zubair Hassan cannot be considered an isolated incident of “domestic violence.” Roots of this tragedy are much deeper- 1400 years of Islamic history. If one studies the history of Islam, its origin, expansion and sustenance
have been steeped in violence and cruelty. It is considered politically correct to say that Islam is a peaceful religion. However, Islam was established by killing of thousands of tribal in what is today Saudi Arabia. For centuries after its founding, there was continual history of killings to usurp political power by warring factions. Islam spread by sword in the Middle
East, Europe and Africa. India was invaded by the followers of Islam and for close to thousand years. As we have seen, in the name of Islam most barbaric cruelties such
as beheadings are perpetrated even today.
OBAMA AND INDIA-PAKISTAN DYNAMICS
President Obama’s inauguration has gone down in history as most watched and most participated event. And true to its significance, Obama’s ascendancy to power, his administration, his policies over next four years will be a big influencing factor on the changing world dynamics. Indian Americans have had a good run with President George Bush and his contribution to Indo-US Nuclear deal has been immense so now it remains to be seen how far does Obama stand by India especially in these trying times when Pakistan has been a tricky wicket in the South Asian region. India has been a peaceful nation all along quite contrary to Pakistan which could do nothing to prevent its land being used for anti-India, anti-peace activities by the terrorist organizations, some of which are a product and extension of its own agency – the ISI. If Pakistan wants to gain its respect in the world community, it will have to take a hard stand and work on eliminating the terrorist forces from its region. How the Obama administration deals with this situation will have a huge impact on the peace in this region. As Indian Americans we hope he can look through the situation objectively – that is by not just considering America’s interests and latching it to Kashmir imbroglio. Read more..
- S K Desai, New Jersey
TERRORIST ATTACKS
Mumbai’s resilience has been taken for granted. India’s too for that matter. It makes sense to get over with natural calamity and get going with life but not man-made disasters like what happened in Mumbai, a dastardly act carried out by terrorists. Post 9/11 how many terrorist attacks have been reported in the US? None. And we keep hearing of bomb blasts in India every other month. If it’s Mumbai today, tomorrow it’s Delhi, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Wonder how come so much arm and ammunition used in the Mumbai attack got unnoticed. It certainly proves the lapse on part of our security system. More than anything else it shows the incapability of the UPA government, which couldn’t stop them from striking back repeatedly. Now there’s no doubt that the UPA will suffer in the forthcoming assembly and general elections. It’s high time we called ourselves a Hindu nation, reclaimed our Kashmir back and eliminated these fundamentalists from the face of the earth if this is what it is all about.
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BLASTS IN AHMEDABAD-BANGALORE
WOES OF A COMMON MAN
It was tragic as well as shocking to hear about the killing of his entire family and suicide of an Indian American in Los Angeles. It’s hard to believe how such a qualified professional can give in to a weak moment. He sure must have had some mental problems. The economic meltdown in the US and losing all his money in there came out to be the reasons to compel him to commit such a gruesome act. In India every year we hear of farmers committing suicide as they can’t return huge debts if the rain god doesn’t shower. It’s a sad situation and the governments need to take prompt steps to bail people out of it. Every century has its own share of ‘great depressions’ and it’s the common man who suffers each time be it India or US.
- Deepika Chouhan, Houston
NAVRATRI WITH A CAUSE
As a resident of Bay Area one can’t help but notice how Navratri events in this part of US support various causes. Sankara Eye Foundation, CliPs, Vibha, Cry, CCF….I came across several NGOs who chose this festival for fundraising. From supporting children and women in India to rural healthcare, these organizations have been diverting the funds to worthy causes. For the garba revelers it’s a double bonanza. On one hand they get to enjoy the festivities, on the other they get the satisfaction that the amount they shell out reaches the deserving. I believe every festival celebration should have a similar strategy. Instead of having Diwali melas where people visit, spend on Indian food and shop. It’s tough to get them to donate but when such charity causes are clubbed with festivities, people don’t mind giving generously. After all isn’t it all about making lives of our brethren better?
- Nitin Gokhale, California
ON THE PRETEXT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
As a nationalistic Indian living out side of India it is painful to see that even after sixty years of independence government can play communal politics in the name of secularism. Amarsingh, the leader of Samajvadi party has now threatened to UPAgovernment of withdrawing support if militants captured in reference to recent bombings in Gujarat and elsewhere were not provided legal assistance and apparently top criminal lawyer of the country, Ram Jethmalani has been asked to be the defense lawyer for these terrorists. Now it is possible that in the name of political gaming these terrorists will be freed and could potentially become a threat to national security. In the US after 9/11 there hasn’t been any terrorist attack on the US soil while in India these attacks and blasts have become monthly if not daily events. Eventually blasts will be an event of last page corner section for newspapers. Democracy doesn’t mean to allow terrorism in the name of pseudo human rights rather it means rights to live like humans. Politicians should get that message now.
- J. Raveendran, New York
TATA DRIVES TO GUJARAT
All the drama around TATA’s plans to open a production facility for its much touted Nano car finally ended on October 7 with Gujarat being the chosen destination. As a Gujarati one often wonders how good will the entire deal turn out to be to an average Gujarati? Will TATA hire more locals? Will more Gujaratis get employment? Or again like the petrochemical giants in the state, will it employ Indians from across the country bringing them to Gujarat? I am not against others but when we make all this hullabaloo about TATA opening shop in Gujarat one is inclined to think in that direction. Besides, would it have been such a big news had the Singur controversy not happened? Modi’s proactive steps do get a pat but isn’t it high time corporates start considering Gujarat as the destination for setting up their plants given the advancements the state has made in all spheres?
- Praveen Trivedi, Connecticut
