last updated 5th October 2006
last updated 5th October 2006
UPDATE ON SRILA PRABHUPADA‘S ROOMS IN RADHA DAMODARA
http://www.dandavats.com/?p=1433
By COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT ISKCON VRINDAVANA
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The present situation with regards to Srila Prabhupada’s rooms at the Radha Damodara Temple is that ISKCON won a recent court decision in Mathura. The court ruled that ISKCON was in legal possession of Srila Prabhupada’s rooms, and should not be illegally dispossessed of those rooms. The City Magistrate was to turn the rooms over to us, but there was a local strike at that time, and the order wasn’t issued right away.
In the meantime, Nirmal Chand Goswami appealed the local Mathura decision to the High Court in Allahabad. The deliberations of that honorable court are going on and we will inform you of that decision after it is made.
During these court cases (and before), the Goswami has made many blatantly false statements. For example, he said that immoral activities were going on in Srila Prabhupada’s room by ISKCON devotees. This was the thrust of his arguments in the court. All the ISKCON devotees who have stayed there to date have displayed impeccable moral character. We have never heard such accusations before, and the Gosvami never brought such allegations to ours or any one else’s attention in all of these years (before the court case).Neither has he ever filed any kind of complaint with any Government authority i.e. police, court etc. in this regard.
Next, he claims that ISKCON/Srila Prabhupada were never in possession
of the rooms. But we all know that from 1959 to the present, Srila Prabhupada
and then ISKCON have always occupied these rooms. This is a fact that the
whole of Vrindavana knows. We have presented a great deal of documentary
evidence
(like rent receipts and so on) to the courts to establish the truth.
Another malicious propaganda the Gosvami has made to incite the local public against ISKCON is that ISKCON is trying to take over the whole Radha-Damodara Temple, whereas our concern has always been simply maintaining Srila Prabhupada’s rooms as Srila Prabhupada himself has clearly desired us to do.
By this propaganda, some months ago, he got some local ruffians to physically manhandle the devotees performing seva puja at Srila Prahbupada’s bhajan kutir.
Furthermore, the Goswami also tried to portray this case as one of the Western foreigners versus the Brijbasis. This is a particularly provocative and inflammatory propaganda that has incited a certain amount of anti-Westerner feelings in the minds of many Brijbasis. This is a cause of concern for us as we do not want our Western devotees to be exposed to any kind of embarrassment or risk.
He also published a special edition of his newsletter, “Radha-Damodara Sudha”, and dedicated the entire issue to speaking severely ill of ISKCON and it’s members. This magazine was profusely distributed free of charge to hundreds of local Brijbasis in Vrindavana, including all the shopkeepers in Loi Bazaar. He has also sent many copies of this newsletter to influential people in Government, State administration and even the judiciary in Allahabad, New Delhi and elsewhere. The idea was to completely spoil ISKCON’s name and bias the mind of these influential people and the general public against ISKCON.
So far ISKCON has taken a non-confrontational approach to trying to solve this impasse, but the Goswami is not responding in kind. Rather he seems to be trying to take advantage of our civility. ISKCON is simply trying to carry out its lawful claim and the desire of its Founder-acarya.
The Gosvami family seems to have forgotten the more than generous contributions made by ISKCON devotees individually and by the Krishna Balarama Mandir itself in all these years. In particular, it is well known that Western devotees have been exceedingly helpful in many ways even to the extent of sponsoring the Goswami’s grandson’s education in ISKCON’s Gurukula.
In spite of this, we are pained to note the campaign the Gosvami has embarked upon. He is trying to present himself as the real spiritual heir of Srila Prabhupada. In his legal notice to us a couple of months ago, the Goswami clearly said that he and his representatives will perform the puja to Srila Prabhupada, and not ISKCON devotees. But it seems he is going against his own word, as he signed an Memorandum Of Understanding with ISKCON in 1997 agreeing that ISKCON devotees will perform the puja. At that time ISKCON gave him a generous donation of 300,000 Rs. or almost $6000.
His idea, of course, is that all the donations that come in should go only to him and ISKCON will always be at his mercy, constantly under pressure to fulfill his unending demands.
It is our request, therefore, that until you get further information from us in ISKCON Vrindavana, please do not offer any financial support to the Radha Damodara Temple. No donations should go to them, that may easily then be used to further the court case and any other false cases and false propaganda against ISKCON and ISKCON devotees.
Kindly communicate this to the community of devotees in your area by suitable means so that they may be forewarned before they visit Vrindavana.
Furthermore, we strongly suggest you not visit the temple there as even such an innocent act on your part could lead to the Goswami making up some false accusation against you in hope to further his unfounded legal position.
We will keep you informed of developments.
Your servants
COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT ISKCON VRINDAVANA
By Rupa Raghunath das
Dear friends, pranams, All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
It is with great pleasure and a sense of gratitude that I am writing this message. Inaugurating our newly built secondary school is certainly a milestone for us at FFLV. When we embarked in this endeavor few years back, we had no idea how far we could actually go. Now that the fruit of your support and of our labor has ripened, we really wish that you could join us on the auspicious day of Sharad Purnima, first day of Kartik, the 7th of October 2006.
Together we will relish these few moments that will open a new door for our Brajabasi children, a door that will allow them to continue their lives’ journey with more tools, more confidence and dignity. Our Yearly SMS Kartik festival will start on the 4th of October and will end on the 10th. Seven days of transcendental celebrations. Daily there will be SMS children performances followed by rasalila and prasadam.
The program will run from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. On the 7th, which is
the actual official day of the grand opening, we have the following programs:
8:00 am Bhumi Puja at Kiki Nangla FFLV land for the new Medical Center.
11:00 am Bhumi Puja at Nandagaon FFLV land (near Vrinda Kunda) for
the new SMS school for girls,
..........followed by prasadam distribution for everyone.
4:00 pm auspicious yagna at Sandipani Muni Secondary School
5:00 pm welcome address 5:30 pm address by guests
6:30 pm performances by SMS children
7:00 pm rasa lila by Fateh Krishna Swami followed by prasadam.
For more details please visit our website: http://www.fflvrindavan.org or contact me: rupa@fflvrindavan.org Cell #: +91 98373 02171
P/S if you are planning on coming please confirm with us so we can be of help regarding pickup and accommodations.
Thanks Your servant Rupa Raghunath das
rupa@fflvrindavan.org http://www.fflvrindavan.org
“In the liberated state of affairs, the full-fledged affection for the Lord is awakened. As such, there is an unlimited flow of everlasting happiness, without the fear of its being broken as we have experienced here in the material world. The relationship with the Lord is never broken; thus there is no grief and no fear” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.47 purport).
I remember whenever I would experience some sort of happiness, when things would start to go well in my life, immediately the fear of loss would rush into my consciousness. “When is this going to end?” I knew it would. It always did. After some time of experiencing this duality of gain and loss the fear would take over. This happened with relationships, this happened with school and work, even (or especially) on drugs. I would be high as a kite, oblivious to the world, but then came the comedown. Even the onset of comedown would bring fear and grief. Why does it have to end? Why can’t I be like this forever? And sometimes those comedowns were extremely hard. From so high to so low, just like that.
Because of this fear we may not want to enter into any sort of relationships. Why go through all of the trouble if it will simply end sooner or later? Then we become a bitter hermit who hides from the world (I speak from experience here too). But this will not solve the problem. We have to have relationships. We have to have real love. And as the above quote states, that real ever-lasting relationship exists between the soul and God. Only in that relationship do we never have to fear loss, for it is eternal. Even without our knowledge the relationship still exists, as God is within our heart always watching over us. And when we turn our love back to Him then we experience this “everlasting happiness” which we are all searching for.
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=360730&no=318008&rel_no=1
DIPAYAL, NEPAL, September 20, 2006: More than 50 Dalits ("Untouchables") were injured in a scuffle while trying to enter a Hindu temple in far western Nepal on September 17. Non-Dalits pelted Dalits with stones and bricks, protesting their entry into and worship in the Shaileshwor Temple, at the Silgadhi bazaar of Dipayal. Organizer Min Bahadur Bam said in a telephone conversation that the non-Dalit mob also directed abuse at journalists and local rights activists alleging that they were supporting the Dalits. The Federation of Dalits' Women's Organization and Semi-Development Center organized the program to open the temple for Dalits for the first time. Earlier, on Sept. 7, non-Dalits held a rally and chanted slogans against journalists, Dalits, NGOs, and political parties following the demands of the Dalits that they be allowed into the temple. After a memorandum was handed over by Dalits of six districts in the far-western region to the administration of fice on Sept. 11, chief district officer Baldev Prasad Bhatta had assured them that the temple would be opened to Dalits from Sept. 17, Bam recounted, saying the temple priest personally allowed the Dalits into the temple for worship. Chief district officer Bhatta, who was also contacted by telephone, assured the victims that the authorities would investigate the incident. Necessary action would be taken against the culprits, he added. Within the Dalit community of Nepal, there are eight major caste groups and 25 identified sub-castes. Some NGOs estimate the Dalit population at 4.5 million, or 21 percent of Nepal's population. Despite their significant numbers, they continue to suffer from discrimination and human rights abuses by reason of their caste.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
Religious life imparts to us the vision to see everyone as, in essence, a beloved servant of God. Yet so often the differences between religions underline a feeling of “the other” that turns those who should be friends into enemies. What often follows is behaviour that may not seem very religious at all.
An example of this is the act of usurping another tradition’s place of worship in order to establish one’s own sanctuary. From my Catholic school upbringing, I remember reading about the aggressive tactics of some Christian missionaries against the religions of indigenous peoples. What struck me was the anger that these acts seemed to convey. The spreading of a message of love and salvation and the intolerant destruction of other forms of faith seemed incompatible.
I recalled this irony recently, when I read about religious tension in Malaysia. In multi-faith environments such as Malaysia, it is hard to avoid a categorisation of “us” and “them”, and consequently easy to fall into a tendency of marking the “other” religion into one’s enemy.
In Malaysia this tension is manifesting, among other ways, in the demolition of different sacred buildings. This year has seen the destruction of at least one nineteenth-century Hindu temple, and last year witnessed the similar demolition of a Christian church and an indigenous place of worship. In all cases, the justification given was that the buildings were illegal. Yet, many such buildings are deemed so simply because they pre-date land records.
Why do religions so easily fall into a status of competitors essentially as enemies? Does religious missionary work have to entail a labelling of the “other”? Does it demand that the flourishing of our faith depends on the subduing of another?
When we make categorical distinctions between “East” and “West”, or “my religion” and “your religion”, we designate ourselves in relation to “the other”, as a friend or enemy, often creating a need for “the other” to act in self-defense. Is there not a better way of spreading a message of truth in this world?
As Vaisnavas, we learn that since a devotee of the Lord sees every living being as part and parcel of the Lord, he or she never creates a situation of friendship or enmity.
However, this is not to advocate a passive indifference to others. If we refer to Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata-Purana), we find this statement of the hallmark of one who is advancing on the spiritual path: “May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga [devotional service to the Lord], for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare.” ISKCON’s founder, Srila Prabhupada, in his purport to this verse elaborates that when one frees himself of envy, “he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others’ welfare.”
This idea of the religious pursuit is not one where the practitioner values only his own salvation, nor is it one where he pushes down those who have not accepted his path.
If we label a particular group, including a particular religion, as a friend or enemy, are we are thinking spiritually? Are we truly representing our religious tradition? When searching for the best way to spread a religious message, can we recognize that missionary activity should not be about crushing faith that is already there? Is imposing our faith on top of another’s with a type of “brand-name” seal the act of a religious person?
Does perpetuating the sense of “us” and “them” turn the spiritual struggle into a power struggle? Spreading a religious message is not aided by force or by divisive views toward other religions. Rather, “Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya 22.107
Kumari Priya Dasi
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200609200939/fiji_hindus_hire_guards_to_protect_temples
SUVA, FIJI, September 20, 2006: In the face of increasing attacks, Hindus in Fiji have hired security to protect temples. Three attacks on temples in five days led to an emergency meeting of the Hindu religious organization, the Sanatan Dharam. The meeting discussed security for their temples after Senior Superintendent Jahir Khan said they should provide their own security because police could not be at every place of worship 24 hours a day. The Howell Road Temple in Suva has hired a security guard by day and engaged a security company to provide protection by night. Its priest, Chandar Shekar, is quoted as saying, "It is a disgrace that the creator of the world is under threat by the people he created." The national president of the Sanatan Dharam, Surendra Kumar, says the authorities must come down hard on people who are disturbing the peace and harmonious relations. A church or temple is a place of worship where people can come together on an allocated day to worship with their leaders and such places should not be destroyed. Catholic Church vicar general, Father Beni Kaloudau made the comment after the desecration of two Hindu temples in less than 24 hours at Calia in Baulevu and Koroqaqa in Nausori. "If we understand our lives as human beings, then we should know that our greatest need is to worship and praise God," said Father Beni. "With faith, we build holy places where people can worship together."
In a second article, here (http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=48517), it said that in a statement, assistant police spokesperson Corporal Prashila Narayan said a person had been identified in connection with the temple attack at Chadwick Road in Narere and an arrest was imminent. She said four officers were conducting door-to-door interviews at Calia in Baulevu and an inquiry had started with regard to the latest case at Koroqaqa in Nausori even though nothing was taken. "All places of worship are sacred and deemed to be a place of sanctity where such acts of theft, vandalism, break-ins or robbery should not take place, but they do," she said. "Sacrilege is also a crime of opportunity and we note that most of those temples that are broken into are the smaller settlement-based ones, which are at most times located away from the residential area. These venues are also less frequently used then other worship sites, hence the ability of likely offenders to note vacant times with greater accuracy." Corpor al Narayan said the offenders were most likely to be from the same communities where these places of worship were located. Narayan said sacrilege was an emotional issue and police were appealing for calm among members of the community affected by the acts. She said sacrilege was a felony under the Penal Code and such acts were against the State meaning that it was serious and would be investigated thoroughly by police. Corporal Narayan said in the first six months of this year, 29 reports of sacrilege on temples, churches and mosques were received from around the country. The Rewa branch president of the Sanatan Dharam, Chengaiya Naidu, encouraged private and public temple members meet to discuss protection for the places of worship.
In a third article, here (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200609181539/hindus_called_into_emergency_meeting_after_further_temple_attacks_in_fiji), Mr. Naidu says the Sabha fears there is a campaign to wipe out Hinduism in Fiji and described the attacks and the desecration of temples as unpardonable. The National Federation Party has called for the formation of vigilante and community protection groups to protect temples and fight back against rising crime. The party's general secretary, Pramod Rae, says offenders are not punished severely enough for sacrilege and people cannot be blamed if they take the law into their own h ands. Mr. Rae says for far too long people have taken advantage of the tolerance of Hindus.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
Vrindavan: The caretaker of the Banke Bihari temple Jugal Goswami was relieved from all the responsibilities of the temple on Monday after he dressed the Lord Krishna idol in jeans and T-shirts.
Goswami, at the request of some fun-loving devotees, gave the deity on Thursday a "modern look" complete with jeans and a shirt and wielding a mobile phone.
The western dressing of the idol had led to strong protests in the holy town and raised a public outrage.
Activists of groups like Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) termed the move blasphemy and burnt effigies of the priests. They demanded that "those who defiled the sanctity of the temple" be punished.
Goswami who apologised over the incident urged people not to lend a political colour to the entire episode.
"We devotees of Banke Behari are very much concerned and this should not be lend any political colour by the political parties," said Jugal Goswami.
But the exit of Goswami seemed very imminent since morning as Gokal Behari Das, Mahant of the temple said, "This is a shameful work. Lord Krishna was wearing T-shirt and a jean is really insulting. We want that the people who are involved in this degrading crime should be arrested",
The incident of Lord Krishna idol being dressed in jeans and T-shirt in Banke Bihari temple created a furore.
Sanskrit scholars like Chandan Lal Parasher and Nirmal Giri of the Kailash temple in Agra criticised the "wanton callousness" of the Vrindavan priests.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal and Brahmin Sabha also organised similar protests. Some have called for the sacking of the priests.
Vrindavan one of the holiest places of the Hindu religion, remained completely closed on Monday.
The locals of this small town were also astounded to see the new 'avataar' of Krishna and also registered their objections.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
Strong demonstrations even on the second day against the denigration
of Lord Krishna
http://www.hindujagruti.org/eng/phpnews/news.php?action=fullnews&id=928
Posted on 19 September, 2006
Supporter of anti-Hindu priest threatened HJS member
Related News:
• Idol of Lord Krishna dressed in jeans and Tee-shirt at Vrundavan
http://www.hindujagruti.org/eng/phpnews/news.php?action=fullnews&id=921
• Strong agitation against the priest for dressing up Lord Krishna
in jeans and tee-shirt
http://www.hindujagruti.org/eng/phpnews/news.php?action=fullnews&id=925
See images of protest
http://www.hindujagruti.org/phpgal/index.php?level=album&id=11
Vrundavan: Staunch Hindus held strong demonstrations against the priests of the famous ‘Banke-Bihari’ temple for dressing up the idol of Lord Krishna in jeans and tee-shirt and giving a cell phone in His hand instead of the flute. The idea of showing Lord Krishna in such attire was of the Chief Priest Shri. Anand Goswami.
A case has also been filed against the priest for ridiculing the idol by dressing Him up in modern attire. The Hindu Yuva Vahini and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti have demanded that strict action should be taken against the priest. The local shops were kept closed to protest against this incident.
In the meanwhile, Shri. Purushottam Das, a member of HJS who is creating awareness among people about this incident, got a threat from the supporters of Shri. Goswami, the ‘Dharma-Drohi’ (anti-religious) priest. When Shri. Das was talking to the media persons, supporters of Shri. Goswami went there and threatened him for leveling charge against their Guru. Shri. Das along with the media persons present there lodged a complaint with the police on receipt of such threat. But no arrests have been made so far.
Shri. Das resolve to work for Hindu dharma
While taking with the reporter of ‘Dainik Sanatan Prabhat’ Shri. Das states that this threat will not affect him and he will continue with the work for Hindu Dharma. He has accepted this work with firm determination and will work more enthusiastically in future.
Silver is widely used for various purposes in the market today. Silver is considered precious and its utility is enormous. The reason behind this is that silver reflects back 95% of the light energy that falls on it. The silver foils used for edible purposes is called VARAKH So what's so special about VARAKH?
This is what I would like to bring to your notice.
If you keenly observe this VARAKH under a microscope don't be perturbed
if you happen to see traces of blood, stools and saliva of a cattle or
ox.
VARAKH is a silver foil and we have no second questions on this, but
to prepare this VARAKH important parts of the CATTLE/OX is made use of.
Intestines of Cattle/OX are obtained from the slaughterhouse. This
is obtained after butchering to death the cattle/ox for beef and the part,
which cannot be consumed: the intestines are pulled out of the animal and
handed over to the manufacturers of VARAKH. Before handing over the intestines,
they are washed in the slaughterhouse to get rid of the blood and other
remains on these intestines in the limited facility that is present in
the slaughterhouse. We are not sure how neatly this job is carried out.
Intestines are cut into small pieces and then are bound together as pages
in a notebook.
A silver block is placed in the middle of these bound intestines, and the whole thing is placed in a leather bag and sealed. Experts, who know how to make VARAKH, pound the bag with wooden sticks, till the entire bag flattens out. The silver block would by this time be turned into silver foil. This Silver foil would now be separated from the intestine pack and will be placed on paper.
This is VARAKH, which reaches the market ready for use. Even staunch
vegetarians, who shy away from egg, unknowingly consume this as a part
of sweet, pan and arecanut. Some unknowingly consume this because of the
additional taste that VARAKH provides.
Now the question is "Why the intestines of the cattle/ox? Why not something
else?" The reason behind using the intestines of the cattle/ox for preparing
the VARAKH is because of the elasticity of the intestines.
They do not get cut even after a severe pounding.
This aspect is brought out in the magazine "Beauty without cruelty" and the Television show of Maneka Gandhi, "Heads and Tails". In India, on an average an estimate indicates that 2,75,000 kilos of "VARAKH" is consumed. Can you estimate how many cattle/ox are sacrificed for just a bit of taste?
If you are surprised as I am, after reading this article please inform as many as possible so as to ensure that we unknowingly don't consume beef.
Regards
Mahesh Heda
kindly send in by Indu Prasad
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200609200939/fiji_hindus_hire_guards_to_protect_temples
SUVA, FIJI, September 20, 2006: In the face of increasing attacks, Hindus in Fiji have hired security to protect temples. Three attacks on temples in five days led to an emergency meeting of the Hindu religious organization, the Sanatan Dharam. The meeting discussed security for their temples after Senior Superintendent Jahir Khan said they should provide their own security because police could not be at every place of worship 24 hours a day. The Howell Road Temple in Suva has hired a security guard by day and engaged a security company to provide protection by night. Its priest, Chandar Shekar, is quoted as saying, "It is a disgrace that the creator of the world is under threat by the people he created." The national president of the Sanatan Dharam, Surendra Kumar, says the authorities must come down hard on people who are disturbing the peace and harmonious relations. A church or temple is a place of worship where people can come together on an allocated day to worship with their leaders and such places should not be destroyed. Catholic Church vicar general, Father Beni Kaloudau made the comment after the desecration of two Hindu temples in less than 24 hours at Calia in Baulevu and Koroqaqa in Nausori. "If we understand our lives as human beings, then we should know that our greatest need is to worship and praise God," said Father Beni. "With faith, we build holy places where people can worship together."
In a second article, here (http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=48517), it said that in a statement, assistant police spokesperson Corporal Prashila Narayan said a person had been identified in connection with the temple attack at Chadwick Road in Narere and an arrest was imminent. She said four officers were conducting door-to-door interviews at Calia in Baulevu and an inquiry had started with regard to the latest case at Koroqaqa in Nausori even though nothing was taken. "All places of worship are sacred and deemed to be a place of sanctity where such acts of theft, vandalism, break-ins or robbery should not take place, but they do," she said. "Sacrilege is also a crime of opportunity and we note that most of those temples that are broken into are the smaller settlement-based ones, which are at most times located away from the residential area. These venues are also less frequently used then other worship sites, hence the ability of likely offenders to note vacant times with greater accuracy." Corpor al Narayan said the offenders were most likely to be from the same communities where these places of worship were located. Narayan said sacrilege was an emotional issue and police were appealing for calm among members of the community affected by the acts. She said sacrilege was a felony under the Penal Code and such acts were against the State meaning that it was serious and would be investigated thoroughly by police. Corporal Narayan said in the first six months of this year, 29 reports of sacrilege on temples, churches and mosques were received from around the country. The Rewa branch president of the Sanatan Dharam, Chengaiya Naidu, encouraged private and public temple members meet to discuss protection for the places of worship.
In a third article, here (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/bulletins/rnzi/200609181539/hindus_called_into_emergency_meeting_after_further_temple_attacks_in_fiji), Mr. Naidu says the Sabha fears there is a campaign to wipe out Hinduism in Fiji and described the attacks and the desecration of temples as unpardonable. The National Federation Party has called for the formation of vigilante and community protection groups to protect temples and fight back against rising crime. The party's general secretary, Pramod Rae, says offenders are not punished severely enough for sacrilege and people cannot be blamed if they take the law into their own h ands. Mr. Rae says for far too long people have taken advantage of the tolerance of Hindus.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
India celebrates the 150th anniversary next year of the Indian mutiny or "first war of independence", when Indian soldiers of the British army rebelled against their colonial masters.
Conventional history says native Hindu and Muslim soldiers, known as sepoys, revolted against the British East India Company over fears that gun cartridges were greased with animal fat forbidden by their religions.
Not so simple, says internationally acclaimed writer and historian William Dalrymple.
In the first of a series of BBC interviews with newsmakers in South Asia, he says his research for a book on the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar threw up startling revelations.
Why do you say that the 1857 mutiny was primarily a war of religion when it has been widely regarded as a rising against British economic policies?
It is rather remarkable that all these papers in the National Archives have never been properly explored before William Dalrymple
Up to now most of the data used by historians exploring 1857 has come from British sources. In the research for my new book, The Last Mughal, my colleague Mahmoud Farooqi and I have used the 20,000 rebel documents in Urdu and Persian which survive from the sepoy camp and palace in Delhi, all of which we found in the National Archives. In the rebels' own papers, they refer over and again to their uprising being a war of religion. There were no doubt a multitude of private grievances, but it is now unambiguously clear that the rebels saw themselves as fighting a war to preserve their religion, and articulated it as such.
So was it less a rebellion against foreign domination as commonly believed?
The two are closely linked: but what the rebels most objected to in the foreign domination of their country was the way the British threatened their religions - the words din and dharma [the Muslim and Hindu words for religion] appear constantly in rebel proclamations, and were used as war cries by the combatants. They certainly appear far more regularly than secular declarations of the right to self-government or economic freedom, both of which are occasionally mentioned, but far less frequently than concerns over British intentions to impose Christianity on them.
Would you call it the first Indian jihad or holy war? The majority of sepoys who revolted were Hindu, weren't they?
Between 65-85% of the sepoys in each regiment were upper-caste Hindus. But as the uprising spread and progressed, the sepoys were joined by large numbers of freelance jihadis, while in Delhi the failure to provide pay or food for the troops meant that the number of sepoys gradually diminished as August progressed and many returned home, hungry and disillusioned.
By the end of the siege of Delhi, several observers estimated that the jihadis made up at least half of the remaining resistance, and it was they who put up the stoutest resistance when the British finally assaulted the city on 14 September.
You say that the sepoys were revolting against the rapid inroads made by missionaries and Christianity in India?
That is certainly the grievance that is articulated most frequently in the rebel papers we have translated. It may well be that Delhi is a different case to the various other uprisings elsewhere in the country.
You say the first suicide fighters were born during the mutiny. How do you prove this?
I have never said these were the first. There are references to suicide jihadis among the Ismaeli Assassins of Syria and Persia from the 11th Century onwards. But there are clear and specific references among the Mutiny Papers to a regiment of jihadis arriving in Delhi from Gwalior who are described as "suicide ghazis" who had vowed never to eat again and to fight until they met death at the hands of the kafirs [infidels] "for those who have come to die have no need for food".
You say that the flag of jihad was raised in Delhi and the mosque was at the centre of it. What was the reason for this "Islamist" uprising in Delhi?
It was much the same as the motivation behind the rising of the sepoys: a distrust of British intention with regard to the imposition of Christian laws, education and religious practices. In addition, there were those who believed they were following the Koranic injunction to turn the Dar ul-harb, the Abode of War, back into what they believed should again be the Dar ul-Islam, the Abode of Islam.
Do you have any idea of how many Hindus who converted to Christianity or Christians were cut down during the mutiny?
Yes. There are specific references to the sepoys hunting down and killing all the Christian converts they could find on the day they first took Delhi. The first to be killed was a very high-profile convert called Chiman Lal who used to run a hospital in Daryaganj and was an official of Bahadur Shah Zafar. His conversion to Christianity had been a huge scandal in 1852, and he was immediately pointed out to the rebel troops on the morning of 11 May.
Do you think Indian historians deliberately overlooked or ignored the historical evidence when researching the mutiny?
No, but it is rather remarkable that all these papers in the National Archives have never been properly explored before: I feel rather like an Indian historian would feel if he were to go to Paris and find almost unused the complete records of the French Revolution sitting in the Bibliotheque Nationale. I think the difficulty of the Urdu shikastah script, and the strange late Mughal scribal conventions must have deterred many researchers. And for cracking that I have to thank the skill and persistence of Mahmoud.
What kind of evidence have you sifted through over what period of time to come up with your "war of religion" thesis?
This has been a four-year project. As well as the material in the National Archives, remarkable material has turned up in London, especially in the India Office and the National Army Museum, in Rangoon and especially the Punjab archives in Lahore. I have also used two long, detailed and reliable first-person Urdu accounts of the uprising in Delhi that have never before been translated into English.
The most interesting of these is an account called the Dastan i-Ghadr of Zahir Dehlavi who was a young official in Bahadur Shah Zafar's household. I have been able to make numerous discoveries simply because, strangely enough, very little serious work has been done on 1857 in Delhi.
Hindu nationalist and right-wing groups in India are still railing against conversions and many states are trying to ban them. Do you think the jihad continues and could there be a second uprising or rather huge social upheaval against Christianity in India?
No. Those conversions that take place today are fringe activities usually taking place among tribal groups and sponsored by American Baptist organisations. What happened in 1857 was an uprising across the length of Hindustan, the modern cow belt, against the suspected religious activities and aspiration of the central government in Calcutta. So what is going on today - such as the church burning in Dangs of Gujarat in 1998 - is on a very different, much smaller scale.
In view of your findings, don't you find next year's celebrations in India to celebrate the uprising slightly misplaced, in a sense?
Not at all - 1857 was a pivotal point in Indian history. It changed everything, and the disastrous course of the uprising dramatically highlighted the shortcomings of the old Mughal feudal order. When Delhi fell in September 1857 it was not just the city and Zafar's court that was uprooted and destroyed, but the self-confidence and authority of the wider Mughal political and cultural world.
Only 90 years separated the British victory at the gates of Delhi in 1857 from the British eviction from South Asia through the Gateway of India in 1947. But while memories of British atrocities in 1857 may have assisted in the birth of Indian nationalism, it was not the few surviving descendants of the Mughals, nor any of the old princely and feudal rulers, who were in any way responsible for India's march to Independence.
Instead the Indian Freedom Movement was led by the new Anglicised and educated colonial service-class who emerged from English-language schools after 1857, and who by-and-large used modern Western structures and methods - political parties, strikes and protest marches - to gain their freedom. Had 1857 not happened, modern Indian history might have taken a quite different course.
William Dalrymple was speaking to the BBC News website's Soutik Biswas. His new book, The Last Mughal, is due to be published by Bloomsbury next month.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/5312092.stm
Published: 2006/09/06 15:00:03 GMT
Vedic World Heritage links:
See our pages supporting these views HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html (Vedik World
Heritage)
Western Indologists been exposed page:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/WesternIndologists-page.htm
How British Misguided the World on Vedic History
http://www.hknet.org.nz/MotiveBritishRajMissionaries.html
Haribol,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I am the author of "Picture a Cow" a little art book with quirky stuff about cows in it.
Now I am having a MAIL ART EXHIBITION in Brisbane Australia.
It is entitled "HOLY COW"
So if you could advertise it in your newsletter or on your website, (let the devotees around you know) I would be grateful. Already I have received art work from America for this event. It is in the spirit of increasing awareness about cows.
This would be the text for your advertising.
HOLY COW mail art exhibition.
A call to all cow lovers and artists, young and old.
Mail me a postcard sized artwork (any media, eg collage, crayon, pencil,
watercolour...) using the theme, HOLY COW. Just stick my address on the
back and yours too, like a postcard and a stamp for international postcards
to this address:
TO
HOLY COW MAIL ART
PO BOX 145
Indooroopilly, 4068
QLD Australia.
Last post on December 25th, 2006. The exhibition will be in January at an inner city gallery. Your work will be on a website dedicated to the exhibition
Contact:
Michael McGraw 757-622-7382
Norfolk, Va. ” Some beauty-pageant winners use their position to promote world peace, but Miss Black USA Elizabeth Muto is promoting whirled peas‚”and carrots, and tofu‚”as part of her pro-vegetarian platform. To make sure that her PETA platform is clear at all the promotional appearances that she'll be making, Muto posed in a bikini made of lettuce for photos that she'll sign, "Turn over a new leaf‚”try vegetarian."
Why does Muto want people to eat their veggies? The standard American
diet of meat, dairy products, and eggs‚”all of which are packed with cholesterol
and saturated fat‚”has Americans packing on the pounds and clogging up
their arteries at an alarming rate. High-fat meat-based diets are causing
alarming increases in many diseases, including diabetes, hypertension,
heart disease, and cancer, among
African-American women, and cardiovascular disease ranks as the number-one
killer of African-Americans.
Animals are also casualties of a meat-based diet. The billions of animals raised every year on factory farms suffer from crowded, filthy housing and painful debeaking, dehorning, branding, and castration‚”all without anesthetics‚”and are beaten and prodded to their deaths at slaughterhouses.
"America's meat addiction is responsible for immense animal suffering as well as poor human health," says Muto. "It's time for people to lighten up on animals and lighten themselves up, too."
Muto, an ethical vegetarian, is following in the footsteps of Pamela Anderson, who traded in her trademark red Baywatch swimsuit for a green lettuce-leaf bikini in a 34-foot-tall PETA billboard that debuted in Times Square last spring.(spring 2002)
See our World Vegetarian Day Newsletters 2004 - 2005 - World Vege Day
See similar articles at Vegetarianism & beyond:
http://turn.to/Vegetarianism
Abortion - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-abortion.htm
Genetic Engineering ( GE or GM ) - http://www.hknet.org.nz/GE.html
Environment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Environment.htm
Encroachment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/WE-Day2004.html
Cloning - http://www.hknet.org.nz/cloning.htm
Science - http://www.hknet.org.nz/science2KC.html
Cow Protection - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Cow-protection.htm
The Four Regulative Principles of Freedom - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Regs-4page.htm
seX-files - http://www.hknet.org.nz/seX-files.htm
Mundane Knowledge - http://www.hknet.org.nz/mundaneknowledge.html
Death (Yamaduttas - Terminal Restlessness etc)- http://www.hknet.org.nz/death.html
Near Death Experience - http://www.hknet.org.nz/NDE.htm
Ghosts - http://www.hknet.org.nz/ghosts.htm
Reincarnation again here - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Reincarnation-page.htm
Gain some insights in the TV culture - http://www.hknet.org.nz/television.html
The aweful Truth about softdrinks - http://www.hknet.org.nz/theREALthing.html
Changing the face of the Earth - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1390/index.html
UFOs - http://www.hknet.org.nz/UFOs.html
Vegetarianism & Beyond - http://turn.to/Vegetarianism
Articles for newcomers to Krishna consciousness - http://www.krishna.com/newsite/main.php?id=87
Self Help and Motivational pages - Deals and Affiliate programs: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-selfhelp.html
Myth of the Aryan invasion by Dr. David Frawley: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Aryan-invasion-mythDF.htmlThe Peace Formula - (By HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html
.........many other articles - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-articles.htm
and from there go to the Main Index http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm
Iskcon News Articles now available - many topical insights
http://www.iskcon.com/new/index.html
THE KSHATRIYA QUEEN
There is one battle where the Muslims took siege on one Hindu fort. They surrounded the fort and waited for everyone to starve to death. The Muslim king wanted the Hindu princess. He said he would give up the siege on the fort if the Hindu princess would come out and marry him. The hindu king had been killed, so the queen was now the ruler. The Muslim king wanted to marry her. But she was a very chaste woman. "I'm not going to marry this rascal." "All right," the king said, "let me just come and see you. If I can see you I will be satisfied and I will go away and we will stop the war." She said, "I am a chaste woman. Why should I let a rogue like you see my body?" But the Muslim king said, "I will stop the war if you just let me look at you." "All right," she said, "you can look at me through a mirror." So he allowed her to look at her face in a mirror. But he was such a rascal that as he was leaving the palace, he said, "That is not enough. If you do not marry me, I will destroy your entire population." So she was a very intelligent kshatriya woman, and Kshatriyas have to be a little diplomatic sometimes. So she said, "OK, I've got an idea. I surrender. You can enjoy me. You can enjoy my beauty. Simply let me spend the next day preparing myself so that we can enjoy. I promise you I will come to your camp tomorrow evening with some of my maidservants, and then we can enjoy. But you have to stop the siege now and leave us alone." He said, "Yes, no problem." So he left the palace with his men, and he went back to his Muslim camp which was a few hundred metres away, and they began to have a big party in expectation. That whole day they were simply drinking wine and dancing, "Yes, the princess is coming! The princess is coming!" And they all got drunk. Sure enough, as the queen promised, that evening the doors of the palace opened and so many palanquin came out. There were over one hundred palanquins carrying the queen and her maidservants. So when the Muslim emperor saw this, he began to dance in ecstasy. They began to drink more and more wine, "Here comes the queen! Here comes the queen!" And all the soldiers were shouting, "Here come the maidservants!" They put away their weapons and started putting on perfumes and nice clothes. The woman were very chaste, so the palanquins were all closed with curtains around them. The palanquins were getting closer and closer. And the palanquins got right inside the camp of the Muslims. All of a sudden the Muslims heard this terrific roar. "Aaaargh!" Coming from the palanquins, and out jumped all the Rajaputa soldiers, the Kshatriyas. They slaughtered all those Muslims to the last man. Meanwhile the queen was watching the whole thing from the palace. Not only did the kings have these qualities, but also the queens had these qualities.
See similar inspirational snippets HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/parables.htm
See more on Darwin and Evolution HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Darwin-out-page.htm
Articles from Back to Godhead Magazine:
http://krishna.org/?related=Back%20to%20Godhead%20Magazine
Article on Mayapur Floods September 2006
Ganga comes for Darshan
by Bhaktisiddhanta Swami
A selection of interesting Krishna conscious articles
from New Panihati - Atlanta temple USA:
http://newpanihati.tripod.com/NewsGroup/KCNectar/KCNectarMain.htm
The Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html
The Real Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceRealF.html
See more on Yoga and Meditation HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-yoga.html
World Vegetarian Day October
1st yearly &
World Vegetarian Awareness Month
of October yearly
...please
visit our links and see what you can do to help
World Smoke Free Day
31st
May Every Year
http://www.be-free.org/b-media/market-bfree03/cinema.php
yeah kick the
butt
...and remember from 10th December 2004 no more smoking in public places
in New Zealand by law
