The Assertive Indian

with apologies to Amartya Sen and his book The Argumentative Indian

Today is the 60th anniversary of India's independence and I thought that I would share some thoughts about leaders for independence.

Many of our friends think that Gandhi was a saint; in fact, one person opined that if he had lived in Jesus's time and stories about him had accumulated over the years, as with Jesus, that he would be regarded with the same reverence as Jesus. However, Gandhi, and those who promote his legacy, especially in the West, have created the unfortunate impression that India and Indians must be docile. Whenever Indians act assertively, it's met with shock and then condemnation.

As for Nehru, he created a travesty of major proportions when he threw the fate of Kashmir to the UN. The Maharaja of Kashmir was offered the same terms of accession as given to rulers of other princely states. He dithered, until marauding Pathans from Pakistan compelled him to throw his lot with India. And for that, many Pakistanis refer to him as a "Hindu despot"! An acquaintance from India mentioned that he had a friend in the Indian army who, along with his fellow soldiers, were stunned when Nehru commanded the army to stand down, rather than fight in Kashmir. A former army officer told us that India could take Kashmir in 7 days if there were the political will.

Most of our non-Indian friends know about Gandhi and Nehru, but have never heard of assertive Indians like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel. Could Netaji's volunteer army marching from Burma have had more to do with Indian independence than Gandhi's satyagraha? A war-weary Britain was unwilling to fight in one of its possessions following WWII. As for Sardar Patel, he did more for integration of India than anyone.

It's time to make Netaji and Sardar Patel better known in the West - it will change perception of India and Indians.

Arise Arjuna: Seeds of Terrorism: Economic Disparity or Ideology

Islamic Rage Boy in Kashmir:
It's not the economy, stupid!

It's been a long time since Atul Kumar has blogged on Arise Arjuna, but for some reason, this article showed up when I viewed news feeds for favorite India blogs in Bloglines:

Arise Arjuna: Seeds of Terrorism: Economic Disparity or Ideology

This article is meaningful today, as it debunks the idea that poverty and the desparation it causes drives people to terrorism. The example of Kashmir illustrates the author's point.

Jihad Watch: Islamic jihadists kill five Hindu road workers in Jammu and Kashmir

From the indispensable Jihad Watch web site:

Islamic jihadists kill[ed] five Hindu road workers in Jammu and Kashmir in March 2007.

Rājauri has now been added to our terrorism map.

Seva for orphans

It often seems that Indians don't take care of their own, and that only foreign organizations undertake humanitarian efforts in India. Here, however, are two indigenous efforts to provide homes for orphans, found through Hindu Press International:

• Mayor Of Delhi Visits Home for Kids Orphaned And Displaced By Kashmir Terrorism - Twenty-three children orphaned by terrorism in Kashmir are receiving instruction in Hinduism, in addition to food, clothing, shelter, and education in other studies. According to Shri Rakesh Gupta, if these children were not adopted and looked after by the society, they might fall into wrong hands, "resulting into a disastrous situation for the Hindu society and the nation itself."

• Project Hope and India Heritage Research Foundation Open Orphanage for Tsunami Orphans - "An orphanage for the tsunami orphans has been constructed in Cuddalore by Project Hope, the organization founded by H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Spiritual Head of Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh and Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi, operating under the auspices of India Heritage Research Foundation, Rishikesh." This project will pair orphans with widowed or abandoned women, thereby providing love and comfort for all (take that, Deepa Mehta!)
  

In a subsequent post, I will highlight the efforts by Indians, in conjunction with non-profit organizations, to wipe out two major scourges: leprosy and kala-azar (black fever), more formally known as Visceral leishmaniasis (VL).

Two worthwhile essays to read

Indians are most unpatriotic people
Kashmiri pandit warns against a second partition of India

The dreaded "H-word"
"Anish Shah analyses the psychology behind the widespread tendency of many Hindu-inspired spiritual or yoga groups to vehemently deny any connections with Hinduism," in this editorial from Hindu Voice UK.