truth abt israel

What happens when
a fly falls into a coffee cup?
An Italian – will throw away the
cup and walk away in a fit of rage.
A Frenchman – will take out the fly,
and drink the coffee.
A Chinaman – will eat the fly and
throw away the coffee.
A Russian – will drink the coffee
with the fly, since it was extra
with no
charge.
An Israeli – will sell the coffee to
the Frenchman, the fly to the
Chinese, buy himself a new cup of
coffee and use the extra money to
invent a device that prevents flies
from falling into coffee.
The Palestinian – will blame the
Israeli for the fly falling in his
coffee, protest the act of
aggression to the UN, take a loan
from the European Union to buy a
new cup of coffee, use the money
to purchase explosives and then
blow up the coffee house where
the Italian, the Frenchman, the
Chinese, and the Russian are all
trying to explain to the Israeli that
he should give his cup of coffee to
the Palestinian.

india_truth

Undoubtedly India is the land of Hindus. But is it really so? Christendom has hundreds of countries . Islam calls scores of countries its own. But Hindus have only one country, and that is India. But only in name.

IN real terms, the barbaric, fanatic Islamic parasites and Euro-Communists in disguise of Evangelists are eating into the vitals of the Hindu land and are gradually reducing the Hindus of this country to an inconsequential minority, third rate citizens, aliens in their own land.

And aiding and abetting the enemies of Hindus, as a willing and enthusiastic catalyst is a whole army of mercenaries comprising the Macaulay and Marx putras, and the barbaric babar vansh media, academia, bureaucracy and the political class. They denigrate Hindus, ridicule the Hindu religion, heap abuse on Hindu religious and social leaders and make fun of the countrys Hindu heritage, history and culture.

Our mission is to take these enemies of Hindus head on, to call their lie and defeat them in their nefarious plans to destroy Hindus and Bharat and make it a neo Evangelist Islamic Marxist colony. Our mission is to bring back to this land and its Hindus the lost glory and grandeur that has been destroyed by the barbarians from the deserts of Arabia and from the fetid inhuman philosophy imported from Russia and China.

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Jai Sri Ram !

Bharat Mata Ki Jai !

Vande Mataram !

Things You Should Know About Islam

MUHAMMAD:

The following is the list of women who were wives or concubines of the Prophet Mohammad:

1. Khadija
2. Sawda
3. Ayesha
4. Omm Salama
5. Hafsa
6. Zainab (of Jahsh)
7. Juwariya
8. Omm Habiba
9. Safia
10. Maymuna (of Hareth)
11. Fatima
12. Hend
13. Asma (of Saba)
14. Zainab (of Khozayma)
15. Habla
16. Asma (of Noman)
17. Maria
18. Rayhana
19. Omm Sharik
20. Maymuna (not of Hareth)
21. Zainab (third one)
22. Khawla
23. Duba

Mohammed married Aisha when she was six years old and consummated the marriage when she was nine years old. Consequently, while following their prophet’s example, Muslims throughout the world and throughout history have married girls as young six and in modern times many Islamic states have set the minimum age of marriage for females to be six or nine years of age.

[Sahih Bukhari 7:62:65
Narrated 'Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old.]

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IN AMERICA:

Contrary to what Muslims claim, Islam is not the fastest growing religion in America, and quoting news broadcasters and politicians (who get their information from CAIR) does not make it true. Here are the facts from Adherents.com.

From the ARIS polls, 1990 and 2000, percent of change:

1. Deity (Deist) +717%
2. Sikhism +338%
3. New Age +240%
4. Hinduism +237%
5. Baha’i +200%
6. Buddhism +170%
7. Native American Religion +119%
8. Nonreligious/Secular +110%
9. Islam +109% <—- <—- <—-
10. Taoist +74%
11. Humanist +69%
12. Eckankar +44%
13. Unitarian Universalist +25%
14. Scientology +22%
15. Christianity +5%
16. Judaism -10%
17. Agnostic -16%

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BARBARISM IN QUR’AN:

+ Qur’an 4:34 advises men to beat their wives if they dont obey them.

+ Qur’an 5:38 orders a gruesome irreversible punishment for thieves, robbing them of a chance to rehabilitate, improve as human beings and becoming a productive member of society later on.

+ Qur’an 4:3 allows men to marry up to 4 wives.

+ Qur’an 65:4 permits men to have sex with girls who have not reached puberty.

+ Qur’an 33:50 allows men to marry women who are prisoners of war.

+ Qur’an 2:65,2:66 are self-explanatory. People who broke the Sabbath were turned into apes.

+ Muhammad married Zaynab, the wife of his adopted son. Qur’an 33:4 suggests that the adopter may marry the ex-wife of his adopted son and vice-versa.

+ Qur’an 2:282 says the witness of one man is equivalent to the witness of two women.

+ Qur’an 4:11 says that a woman inherits half of what a man inherits.

+ The famous Qur’an 9:29 verse orders Muslims to fight non-Muslims. This is just one of the verses in Quran that causes Islamic terrorism.

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Freedom of speech for EVERYONE in the 21st century

To: The European Court of Justice

As of 22.01.2009, Susanne Winter, a lawyer and politician for the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria received a 3-month conditional sentence, with the additional fine of 24.000 EUR, for “incitement and degradation of religious doctrines” as she stated that the Islamic Prophet Mohammed would today be considered a paedophile for raping a 9-year old.

Regardless of my view on Winter’s claim, it is a grave violation of human rights for freedom of expression to ban constructive religious criticism.

I hereby demand an appeal against the presiding court in Graz to demonstrate that the freedom of speech has still value in the 21st century.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

http://www.petitiononline.com/wint0109/petition.html

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STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM:

Many have asserted that “women are not treated as equal members” of Muslim societies and have criticized Islam for condoning this treatment. The term “Muslim apartheid” has been used to highlight religious isolation in France as well as gender segregation practices. The Catholic Church has warned christian women about marrying Muslim men because of the “inferior” status of women in Muslim countries and the nonexistence of maternal rights to children.

Critics argue that women have an inferior status in Islam based on verses found in the Quran and Hadiths. Some of the main points of contention are:-

A woman’s witness is worth half of a man’s:- The sharia law based on Sura 2:282 regards the witness of a woman to be worth half of a man. This has been a major point of discrimination in Muslim society. Critics argue that to be a witness to a crime, a woman is not deficient in her intellectual capabilities as compared to a man.

Women can be beaten for disobedience:- Based on Sura 4:34 the Quran clearly states that a woman can be scourged for disobedience. This has led to higher levels of abuse against women in Islamic societies.

A woman is cursed if she refuses to sleep with her husband:- The hadiths state that a woman is cursed by angels if she refuses to sleep with her husband. This is equivalent to a woman’s sex life being enforced by her husband. Critics argue that marriage is a compromise between two people in any culture. This clearly gives woman a subordinate status in Islam.

A wife may remarry her ex-husband if and only if she marries another man, they consummate the marriage, and then this second man divorces her:- The need for a pointless ritual to marry a second husband and then hope to get divorced before being allowed to remarry the first husband has been called a tribal practice that has nothing to do with divine inspiration.

According to Muhammed, a woman lacks common sense because their minds are deficient:- Muslim apologists like to rationalize this by the false claim that the ratio of women to men is 3:1, hence the rationale that hell is filled with more woman. No society exists at this time or has been proven to historically exist with a 3:1 ratio of women to men. On closer observation of the verse, this has nothing to with biology. In fact when the prophet himself answers in this verse that the reason for hell being filled with woman is because a) they curse, b) they are ungrateful to their spouses. Another key point to note here is that there are no verses that explain what happens to a man who is ungrateful to his wife. In any case the prophet goes on with more comments like a) they lack common sense, b) they all fail in religion, and c) they rob the wisdom of the wise.

Lastly women are accused of not fasting in Ramadan. This is a reference to women not fasting when they experience their monthly periods, however this directly contradicts the Quran when it explicitly allows Muslim women to not fast at such times based on this verse.

4 witnesses are needed to convict a rapist:- Muslim apologists like to claim that Sure 4:15 has been misinterpreted in Arab countries. However this happens in most fundamentalist Islamic societies that follow the letter of the Quranic law. It is extremely difficult to get 4 witnesses in a rape case which explains why since 1947, only 2 women have won rape cases in the entire nation of Pakistan.

Heaven for Men vs. Women:-Heaven for men is 72 big breasted virgins to do their bidding. However the Islamic heaven for woman does not promise women any similiar sexual rewards, instead they are rewarded by standing in corners waiting to be molested by the men that make it to heaven.

Islam permits the marrying of 4 wives:- Polygamy in Islam is permitted for men but not for women. Apologists have argued that this verse was sent down at a time when there was a shortage of men because so many of them were dying in the wars waged during the early days of Islam. However this has not stopped a widespread practice of Muslim men taking multiple wives all over the Muslim world.

Muhammad’s lack of respect for women can be seen from other examples in his life:-

There are atleast 20 different verses in different Hadiths that say that Muhammed Married Aisha when she was 6 and consummated that marriage when she was 9. Muhammed forced his adopted son Zaid to divorce his wife Zainab so he could marry her by conveniently getting a revelation from Allah that Zainab was going to be his wife now.

Based on the hadiths, slave girls were the sexual property of their male owners. They could be raped and then sold off. One hadith narrates a story where the Muslim warriors find excellent arab women that they not only want to sleep with, but later sell off. Also they do not want to impregnate the women (According to Islam, they are required to take care of the women if they do) so they perform Al-Azl. Upon approaching the prophet, he does not rebuke them rather he sanctions it saying that it makes no difference whether they do al-azl or not. In another verse, Ali performs this act, someone complains to the prophet and the response he gets is that Ali not only deserves this slave but more than that from Al Khumus(this is the Arabic word for One Fifth (1/5), its 1/5th of the war booty). The Pakistani army raped thousands of women in Bangladesh during the separation of East Pakistan citing this verse as scriptural basis. A man may suckle an adult woman to make them related in an Islamic sense, hence preventing them from ever being married. This was the basis of the famous breast feeding fatwa issued in Egypt that was reported in the media[20] where a person was ordered to suckle the adult women in his office to make it Islamically legal for him to work with unrelated women in his office.

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THE ESSENCE OF ISLAM

We give below the conclusions which cannot be avoided if we study the corpus of Islam from its original sources – the Quran, the Hadis, the biographies of the Prophet, and the compendia from the four leading schools of Islamic law – without getting caught in the casuistries which 19th and 20th century Islamic apologetics has woven round this creed:

1. The Kalima or the confession of faith (îmãn) in Islam proclaims that there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Prophet (rasûl) of Allah. Which means that all Hindu Gods and Goddesses are non-existent or false, and that all Hindu sages and saints (rishis and munis) whether born before or after Muhammad was made the Prophet by Allah, are impostors or have been superseded.

2. Allah says that the Quran is the last as well as the best revelation which has superseded all earlier revelations of divine truth, and ruled out any future revelation till the end of time. Which means that all Hindu guides to spiritual seeking (Sruti) have become null and void, and that Hindus who continue to look up to them are no more than misguided fools.

3. Allah also says that he has perfected the code of human conduct in the life-style (Sunnah) of die Prophet, both for becoming virtuous in this life and for entering paradise hereafter. Which means that all Hindu codes of conduct (Dharmasãstras) have become invalid, and can lead only to vice in this life and hell hereafter. Nor do Hindus have a right to evolve any code of conduct in future.

4. The Quran as well as the Sunnah informs us that the age preceding the prophethood of Muhammad was an age of ignorance (jãhiliyyah), and that all cultural creations of that age have either to be so converted as to fit into the framework of Islamic culture, or destroyed root and branch. Which means that the entire culture which Hindus have inherited from their hoary past has either to be forced into Islamic moulds or to be wiped out altogether.

5. Islam assures us that Allah has bestowed the whole world together with all its wealth and population upon his Chosen People, the congregation of Muhammad (Ummat al-Muhammadî), and that the lives, properties, and honour of the infidels (kãfirs) stands forfeited in favour of the believers (mu’mins). Which means that Hindus have become squatters in their ancestral homeland, and that Muslims have an unalienable right to drive them away, kill them, plunder them, enslave them, and dishonour them in every way till they agree to be converted to the only true faith.

In short, Islam divides the human family into two factions – the believers and the infidels-, human history into two periods – the age of ignorance and the age of enlightenment-, and the inhabited earth into two camps-, the lands of the believers (Dãr-ul-Islãm) and the lands of the infidels (Dãr-ul-harb)-, and postulates a permanent war between these divisions. The believers are called upon to wage an unceasing war (jihad) on the infidels till the latter are converted or killed off. The age of enlightenment should strive in the same way till everything belonging to the age of ignorance is remoulded or replaced. And the Dãr-ul-Islãm should continue to send missions to the Dãr-ul-harb till the latter is conquered and converted into Dãr-ul-Islãm.

Mind and information control:
Mohammed’s criminality:
Mohammed’s pedophilia:
Silencing criticism:
Mohammed as a cult leader:
Meccan and Medinan verses:
Allah and God:

Origins of the koran:

Allah’s pagan daughters:
Meteorite worship:
Animal sacrifice to Allah:
Human sacrifice to Allah:

varun gandhi original speech

“This is not the (Congress’s election symbol) ‘hand’, this is the hand of the ‘lotus’ (the BJP’s symbol). It will cut the throat of (derogatory reference to Muslims) after the elections… Varun Gandhi will cut… Cut that hand, cut it… cut it… Go to your villages and give the call that all Hindus must unite to save this area from becoming Pakistan… Is it not true… that if (a woman) is asked her name and she says Bimla Devi, she is told we’ll see, we’ll think (about giving Government aid), give us Rs 5,000 first… But if her name is Saira Bano or whatever begum Hukum Begum… I don’t even know… These people have such scary-sounding names… Karimullah, Mazharullah… If you ever encountered them at night, you’d be scared… I have a sister… there was a pamphlet with pictures of all the candidates… so this child told me, ‘I didn’t know that Osama bin Laden is contesting from your area’. I told her, ‘America couldn’t get Osama, but Varun Gandhi is going to get a lot of people after the elections’.”

Gujarat Riots: The True Story

Myth 1: 2,000 Muslims were killed in the Gujarat riots

Fact: As per figures given by the Union Minister of State for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal, who belongs to the Congress Party, in Parliament on 11 May 2005, 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the riots, 2548 people were injured and 223 people were missing. The report placed the number of riot-affected widows at 919 and the number of children orphaned at 606. The UPA government gives these figures, and hence they themselves may be inflated.

See link: http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=46538 or

http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/05/11/1105godhra-rs.html

Even the Indian Muslims’ English newspaper Milli Gazette also reported this.

The editorials of the national English dailies, and the articles published from the freelancers on the newspapers’ editorial pages are nothing but a pack of lies, akin the autobiography of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, “In the Line of Fire”. Newspapers like The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, etc. continue to publish articles saying, “Win in Assembly elections of December 2002 does not whitewash Narendra Modi’s sins of the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 when 2000 innocent Muslims were butchered” or “The Gujarat pogrom of killing thousands of Muslims did not help the BJP in the long term” etc. etc.

All these numbers again came into the picture when Narendra Modi was denied a US diplomatic visa in March 2005 by the USA and his earlier tourist visa, issued in 1998 was revoked just one day before his scheduled visit to the USA. Why the USA took as many as three years after the Gujarat riots to revoke Modi’s earlier visa is not known.

But these numbers are nothing but a pack of lies. The number of Muslims killed in the post-Godhra riots is inflated and exaggerated to unimaginable levels. Let us see the interview given by the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to Aaj Tak’s Prabhu Chawla, excerpts of which were published in the weekly India Today, dated 4 November 2002:

“Q- Your opponents call you ‘Jinnah of the Hindus’.

A- I am hearing this for the first time though I still don’t consider you as an enemy.

Q- You are held responsible for the killing of 1,100 innocent people in the riots.

A- In our previous interview, you said 900 people. Now you are saying 1,100. Are you adding all the people killed in other states like Maharashtra and Bengal to Gujarat’s account?

Q- So what is the correct toll?

A- There would have been no riots in Gujarat if there had been no Godhra.

…

Q-Do you accept that you failed to provide security to the people of the state?

A-98% of Gujarat would not have peace if we had failed to fulfill our duties. We managed to control the riots within 72 hours.

…

Q-Why don’t you accept that Gujarat is being defamed because of Narendra Modi?

A- If that is true, give the people of Gujarat a chance to pronounce their verdict through elections.”

As we see, the number of people killed in the riots jumped from 900 to 1100 after Narendra Modi’s previous interview, i.e. within 4 months! Now it has jumped from 9,00 to 2,000. May be after 10 years, at this rate it will jump to 10,000! Already it is being said that, “thousands of Muslims were killed in Gujarat” and “3,000 innocent Muslims were butchered in Gujarat”.
What these lies have done to well-meaning people

It is generally believed, even in the Sangh Parivar, that the post-Godhra riots were one-sided. Anil Nair, Organiser correspondent in Mumbai reported in the weekly, dated 20 February 2005 thus:

“On February 10, Pakistan finally gathered the gumption to tell us that it was both-in Ahmedabad over 2,000 Muslims were killed in riots. Such polemics are useless; Pakistan is working on the presumption that the Congress government will find it hard to choose between national honour and secularism, and by all measure it will choose the latter at the cost of the former.”

Smriti Irani, BJP member and TV actress (mind the word actress and not actor), also said that she would sit on a fast until death unless Narendra Modi resigned by 25 December to help the BJP get a secular image once and for all in December 2004.

Most leaders of BJP are also blatantly ignorant of the truth of the Gujarat riots. Whenever Congress leaders or anti-BJP journalists raise the issue of the Gujarat riots on TV, the BJP leaders like Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Nitin Gadkari, Gopinath Munde, Prakash Javdekar, Sheshadri Chari, Shahnawaz Hussain, Harsh Vardhan etc hopelessly fail to give befitting reply. They falter in speech. They merely try to point out that the Gujarati electorate gave a huge mandate to the BJP and to Narendra Modi in the December 2002 Gujarat Assembly polls, and mention the Godhra incident as a cause of the riots. None of them ever points out any instance of Muslim aggression, sufferings of the Hindus in the riots, police firing deaths, or the fact that only 60 places out of 18,600 saw riots. This is because of ignorance and blind belief on media lies.

After every terrorist attack, the national English media rationalizes this deed on grounds of the ‘Gujarat riots’. The Gujarat riots were the result of the Godhra massacre. That the English media justified Godhra (as a response to the Ramjanmabhoomi movement in Ayodhya), did not justify or even rationalize the post-Godhra riots (which were the direct result of Godhra) where Muslims were killed and ignored the killings of the Hindus, and it tried to and tries to de-link post-Godhra and Godhra. And it rationalizes and/ or justifies the (so-called) ‘reaction’ to the post-Godhra riots.

The very fact that some terrorists claim that they “plan to avenge the Gujarat riots” clearly shows the devastating consequences of the media lies. The media lies today about Gujarat riots being a ‘pogrom’ and instigates innocent Muslims to terrorism.

In March 2005, the Pakistan cricket team was on a tour to India. It refused to play a Test match in Ahmedabad on ‘political’ grounds, i.e. for ‘the killings of Muslims’ in that city. All this is clearly the result of stark lies concocted by the biased media, which it itself may have started to believe by now. All these lies and myths need to be thoroughly exposed.

That the UPA government, with Congress President and Italian-born and staunchly anti-BJP Sonia Gandhi as the UPA chief, and Communists as outside supporters, gave the figure of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus killed in the Gujarat riots inside Parliament is something worth pondering about. These figures themselves may well be exaggerated given as they are by a Congressman, who works under Sonia Gandhi.

India Today weekly reported in its issue dated 20 May 2002, when the riots had almost stopped that “Total dead- 972″ (For details, see page no 70).

Out of these 972, India Today included 57 people killed in Godhra. If anyone sees the English newspapers of those days, i.e. between 10 to 21 May 2002, no riots took place in Gujarat in those 10 days at all, and the Army left Gujarat on 21 May. A maximum of 20 more deaths might have happened in Gujarat after that. The death toll in Gujarat riots would thus be 935.

I myself recall reading in Nagpur-based English daily The Hitavada that 936 people were killed in the Gujarat riots after the Army left Ahmedabad on 21 May 2002.

Adding the UPA’s figures of 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus, we have a total of 1044 people killed in the Gujarat riots, a 100 more. Hence, the true figures may well be 682 Muslims and 254 Hindus, a total of 936 people killed.

But let us, for argument’s sake, assume that the figures given by the UPA government are correct. Does that give anyone the reason to believe that more than 790 Muslims were killed in Gujarat? Why should the English dailies and the 24-hour news channels lie through the skin of their teeth that 2000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat? A total of 223 people are said to be missing. Out of them, how many are Hindus is also not told. The maximum number of people thus killed in Gujarat, assuming that all the missing are dead would thus amount to 1267. There is no scope for anyone in the world, including the human-rights organisations and the US-based religious freedom groups and the TV channels like NDTV and company to report that one more than 1267 people were killed in the Gujarat riots.

Despite this, Prafull Bidwai, a self-proclaimed secularist wrote in Nagpur-based English daily, The Hitavada’s Sunday magazine, Insight in July 2006, soon after the Mumbai blasts that killed 187 people in the city, that, “VHP, Bajrang Dal and the BJP butchered 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat”. And he was not the only one. NDTV, mouthpiece of a political party, and that too the CPI (M), a Leftist party, reported a thousand times during the Lok Sabha elections of April- May 2004 that, “2000 Muslims were killed in Gujarat”.

2,000 is the number of Muslims who carried out the massacre and gruesome roasting alive of 59 Hindus-including 25 women and 15 children in Godhra. It is not the number of Muslims who were killed in the subsequent riots. There is no justification for violence-and of even a single death-be it in Godhra or after Godhra. But why lie throught the skin of your teeth that 2000 Muslims were killed when only 790 were killed? Who gains by these lies? And it is everybody’s duty to correct the figure. The point is- what should be reported is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Myth 2: Muslims were ‘butchered’ in Gujarat

Fact: Undoubtedly, Muslims were killed in one-sided attacks in many places in the state- like in Naroda Patiya, Gulmarg Society, Naroda Gram, Sadarpar and other places- but by and large- the riots were not one-sided- and Muslims were hardly the cattle hiding from the slaughter house. As we have seen in a couple of earlier chapters, Muslims were equally on the offensive, at least after the first three days. Muslims killed Hindus brutally in Himmatnagar, Danilimda, and Sindhi Market and other areas of Ahmedabad-as reported by weekly India Today.

To read the full story of India Today-

http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/20020415/states.html

See paragraphs 8,9,10,11 and 15 of this story in India Today

The Hindu reported that as early as 1st March 2002 itself, Muslims started violence in Ahmedabad. (See The Hindu’s report on this subject in its issue dated 2nd March 2002).

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/02/stories/2002030203050100.htm

See last line of 9th paragraph from the top.

Reports of The Hindu on this subject throughout the months of March and April 2002 make it clear that Muslims were on the offensive, called the shots in many areas, drove out Hindus from their houses, started the riots in many cases. India Today’s report on this subject in its issue dated 15 April 2002 also points out this same thing.

Around 40,000 Hindus were forced to take shelter in refugee camps. The Dalits suffered almost as much as the Muslims in the riots, only at the hands of the Muslims. On 23 March 2002, 50 Hindu shops were burnt in Ahmedabad’s Revdi Bazaar that caused a loss of 15 crore rupees.

See link:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Ahmedabad/Rioters-torch-50-shops-at-Revdi-Bazaar/articleshow/4609603.cms

The Muslims attacked the Hindus on 1st and 2nd March 2002 as well. They are on record starting as many as 157 riots in Gujarat after 3rd March 2002. They did not allow the police and the Army to search for criminals in their areas. They pelted the police and even the Army with bullets and stones, when they arrived to conduct search operations in Muslim areas. The Muslim women formed human chains and cut off power at night so that the criminals could flee with weapons from the Army.

Link: http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/20020415/states.shtml – Paragraph 15 from top

Three judgments of different courts in Gujarat have sentenced some Muslims for rioting in Ahmedabad and Vadodara, post Godhra. On one occasion, 7 Muslims and on another occasion, 9 Muslims were convicted and punished for rioting and killing after Godhra. This will be seen in detail later.

The conviction of Muslims proves that Muslims were equally on the offensive-and not the cattle hiding from the slaughter house that the media makes them out to be.

To see a link for the conviction of 9 Muslims in Ahmedabad- on 28 March 2006- click here

http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=65065

7 Muslims were convicted on 18 March 2006-

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=174094

4 Muslims convicted on 18 May 2006-

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/postgodhra-riots-dna-test-nails-4-killers/4719/

Myth 3: Whole of Gujarat was burning

Fact: Out of the state’s 18,600 villages, 240 municipal towns, and 25 district headquarters, only 60 places saw riots. If one includes the two big cities of Ahmedabad and Vadodara, by the wildest stretch of imagination, only 2 % of the state can be assumed to have been burning. Only 40 out of the state’s 18,600 villages saw riots. Had the state government been involved in the riots-or wanted to encourage the riots-it could have created riots in 10,000 out of Gujarat’s 18,600 villages. In the past curfew has been placed in 300 villages at the same time. As compared to that-absolutely nothing happened in 2002.

Saurashtra and Kutch account for one-third of Gujarat. Riots did not even touch these parts, either in cities or in villages even in the first three days. These places account for 58 out of Gujarat’s 182 Assembly seats. After the first three days riots took place only in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and some places near Godhra in Panchmahal district. That is to say-after 2nd March 2002 riots had stopped in almost the whole of Gujarat. The real riots happened only in the first 3 days-and the violence progressively reduced in these 3 days. After the first three days-riots were limited to cities only-by and large. But in Saurashtra and Kutch-no riots took place even in the first three days-even in cities. And villages of Saurashtra and Kutch were completely untouched by the riots.

Even outside Saurashtra and Kutch, riots stopped completely in North and South Gujarat after 3 days-with not even a single killing in either of the two parts. Only in some parts of Central Gujarat did the riots occur after 3 days-and only in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and some parts near Godhra.

But the media lied at that time and has also lied ever since that the whole of Gujarat was burning. Around 6 December 2002, Narendra Modi was invited on Star News- NDTV’s programme ‘Hotline’. In that programme, the anchor Pankaj Pachouri asked Narendra Modi this question. He said, “Your party always gains because of the riots. But no riots took place in Saurashtra and Kutch, so you are all set to lose there. How will you respond to this?” To that question, Narendra Modi replied,

“When 2 % of Gujarat was burning, you were saying that the whole of Gujarat is burning. Now you are saying that no riots took place in Saurashtra and Kutch. So first you apologize for lying that the entire state was burning when only 2 % of the state was burning.”

These malicious lies of the media were exposed twice. Once during the time of the riots in Gujarat in March-April 2002. And second, during the Gujarat Assembly elections of December 2002. After the BJP’s huge victory in Gujarat in December 2002, the media again ignored these facts and lied that the whole of Gujarat was burning. The BJP is too passive to ever remind the media of its own lies and its own true reporting. It has never bothered to expose the truth of Gujarat, and attack the media for lying that the whole of Gujarat, including Saurashtra and Kutch were also burning.

Myth 4: The Gujarat police turned a blind eye to the rioting

Fact: Even though the situation was terrible, the police performed its work extremely efficiently. The police force was woefully insufficient. Uday Mahurkar reports for India Today (18 March 2002):

“Ahmedabad has a police force of 6,000, including 1,500 armed personnel. In addition, the entire state has just four companies (530 jawans) of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) of which only one company could be spared for Ahmedabad. Considering that the mobs that simultaneously surfaced at nearly half a dozen places numbered from 2,000 to 10,000, the forces proved woefully inadequate. At one point on February 28 there were at least 25,000 people targeting the Muslim localities in Ahmedabad alone.”

See link: http://www.indiatoday.com/itoday/20020318/cover.shtml

Despite this, the police fired more than 4,000 rounds in the first three days alone. As many as 98 people were shot dead by the police, majority of whom are Hindus. For the complete period of rioting, despite the presence of the Army, the police fired as many 15,000 tear gas shells, and a total of 10,500 rounds. Out of the total people killed in the riots, about 20 % have been shot dead by the police.

Infact- the encyclopaedia wikipedia reports-based on sound sources-that as many as 200 policemen laid their lives trying to quell the violence during the riots.

Out of the 25,486 accused, the Gujarat police arrested as many as 25,204 people. This clearly shows the efficiency of the Gujarat police. On March 1st and 2nd and afterwards, Muslims too rioted and they too were killed in police firing.

The Gujarat police saved as many as 2,500 Muslims in Sanjeli, a town in North Gujarat, 5,000 Muslims in Bodeli, in Vadodara and about 10,000 Muslims in Viramgam. A total of about 24,000 Muslims were saved in the first three days alone. Police officials themselves suffered injuries in trying to save the Muslims, as reported by the weekly India Today.

See link: http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20020422/states.shtml
On February 28, the police shot dead 10 Hindus in Ahmedabad alone. The leading most English daily from South India, and an extremely anti-Hindu newspaper, ‘The Hindu’ reported this on 1st March 2002. On 1st March, the police shot dead 17 people in Ahmedabad alone-as reported by The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002.
On 2nd March 2002-police firing resulted in 47 deaths-as reported by The Hindu the next day-i.e. 3rd March 2002.
See link: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/03/stories/2002030303020100.htm
The Indian Express dated 3rd March reported that 77 people were killed in Police/Army firing on 2nd March 2002.

The steps taken to control the violence were-

1-The Indian Express dated 28th February 2002 reported that the State Government had deployed the Rapid Action Force in Ahmedabad and other sensitive areas and the Centre sent in CRPF personnel-on February 27 itself even before a single riot had taken place. This was also reported by Mid Day dated 28 February- and also The Times of India.

See link: http://www.mid-day.com/news/2002/feb/21232.htm

This is mentioned in 3rd catagory- 7th paragraph

2- The Hindu reported in its issue dated 28th February 2002 that “Shoot-at-sight” orders had been given in Godhra on February 27 itself. And so did ALL the English dailies that day. Also read the sentence-” the state government has appealed to the people to maintain peace.”

Link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2002/02/28/stories/2002022803070100.htm

3-The Hindustan Times reported in its issue dated 28 February 2002 that the entire police force of 70,000 was deployed in Gujarat on 27 February itself-after the shocking massacre in Godhra-in view of apprehensions that riots might break out. This was also reported by British daily The Telegraph the same day.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/1386341/Hindus-massacred-on-blazing-train.html

4-827 preventive arrests were made on the evening of February 27 itself-on Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s orders-on his return to Ahmedabad from Godhra. This was reported by weekly India Today dated 18 March 2002.

5-On February 28 -despite the deployment of the entire police force, the CRPF personnel and the Rapid Action Force-the situation slipped out of control-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.

See link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/03/01/stories/2002030103030100.htm

6-Despite the fact that the situation slipped out of control-the mob sizes were unpreceedented-and the police were overwhelmingly outnumbered-the police did its best. The police fired more than 1,000 rounds on the first day of the riots-i.e. February 28.

Link: Same as Number 5’s link- but this doesnt mention 1000 rounds- which were fired that day- including 600 in Ahmedabad

7-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 1st March 2002-that atleast 10 persons were believed to have been killed in police firing in Ahmedabad alone by evening of February 28. ( Same link as number 5, pragraphs 2 and 9 from the top).

5 Hindus were shot dead outside Ehsan Jafri’s house on Feb 28-according to India Today weekly-dated 18 March 2002.

8-Curfew was clapmed in Godhra on 27 February itself-as reported by The Hindu dated 28 February 2002. Also reported by all English dailies- such as Times of India- dated 28 Feb.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2256789,prtpage-1.cms or

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020228/main1.htm

9-An indefinite curfew was clamped in 26 cities and towns in the State, including parts of Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Nadiad, Anand and Kaira on February 28 in addition to the indefinite curfew in force in Godhra since February 27-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002- and every English daily the next day and also weeklies- like India Today- which covered events till Feb 28 in its issue dated 11 March 2002.

Link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/03/01/stories/2002030103030100.htm

10- The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, frantically called the Army units to Ahmedabad on February 28-as reported by the The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.

See link: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2002/03/01/stories/2002030103030100.htm

See 8th paragraph from the top.

11-The Indian Express and The Hindu both reported that Army units started arriving in Ahmedabad on the night of February 28-in their issues the next day-i.e. 1st March 2002. This shows that the Army units reached Ahmedabad so quickly-that the newspapers had the time to report their arrival on February 28 itself itself and publish it on 1st March!

(Same link as number 5- 8th paragraph from the top)

12-The Army staged a flag march in Ahmedabad on 1st March 2002 at 11:30 AM-as reported by weekly India Today in its issue dated 18th March 2002. The Hindu and The Indian Express and all major dailies also reported that the Army staged flag marches in Ahmedabad-and also Vadodara on 1st March 2002.

13-The Army began flag marches in the worst-affected areas of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Godhra cities and the `shoot at sight’ order was extended to all 34 curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat on 1st March 2002-as per The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002.

See link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/03/02/stories/2002030203050100.htm

14-The Gujarat police fired a total of 4,000 rounds in the first three days alone. This-despite the presence of the Army.

15-The Gujarat police shot dead 98 people in the first three days-majority of whom are Hindus.

16-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 4th March 2002-that only 2 deaths were reported on 3rd March in the entire state-and the violence has ended on 3rd March 2002. Thus-the Gujarat government managed to control the situation in 3 days-even after the shocking massacre in Godhra-while it took previous Congress governemnts 6 months to stop the riots in 1969 and 1985-even without any cause as Godhra.

Myth 5: Gujarat police was anti-Muslim

Fact: Far from it, the police was slow to act on Muslim fanatics for fear of being called ‘anti-Muslim’ by the media. Out of the total killed in police firing in Gujarat, 60 % were Hindus and 40 % were Muslims. Muslims greeted the police, and also the army, with bullets and turned off the power supply and made life hell, and also started riots and accused the police of being biased, when the police came to search for armories in Muslim areas. For fear of being labeled anti-Muslim, the police failed to do their duty.

India Today weekly in its issue dated 20 May 2002, clearly admits that, far from being anti-Muslim, the Gujarat police did not act speedily against Muslim fanatics and rioters, for fear of being called anti-Muslim by the biased and partisan media.

The India Today weekly report dated 20 May 2002 says-”A series of attacks on policemen by Muslims has further added to the lack of faith. Now, strapped with the anti-Muslim label, the police has been slow in acting against Muslim fanatics”.

See the link- http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/20020520/states2.html

This will contain the above sentence in the 6th paragraph from the top.
The Gujarat Police saved at least 24,000 Muslims from certain death in the first three days-in places like Sanjeli, Bodeli, and Viramgam in particular. Gujarat police shot dead 98 people in the first 3 days-majority of whom are Hindus. The Police arrested 17,000 Hindus for rioting. Moreover, the prosecution of the police was so efficient that until now, at least 87 people for rioting in Gujarat-out of whom at least 61 are Hindus.

Myth 6: Gujarat riots were the ‘worst ever massacre’ in India

Fact: Gujarat riots of 2002 AD were absolutely nothing as compared to Gujarat’s past riots of 1969 and 1985 AD. They were still nothing as compared to Gujarat’s riots of 1980, 1982, 1990, and 1992. And they were again nothing as compared to pre-independence riots of the 1940’s in Ahmedabad when the Hindu community took a sound beating.

Much worse riots took place in New Delhi in 1984 under the Congress Party’s rule. Officially 3,000 people were killed, and actually close to 10,000. Riots were also not limited to New Delhi then. Killings of more than 40,000 Hindus have happened in Jammu and Kashmir state of India. Hardly 1000 people were killed in Gujarat in 2002 AD, for the sins of 2000 Muslims of Godhra. Out of them, more than 250 are Hindus. Post-Godhra riots were neither ‘pogrom’, nor ‘genocide’, nor ‘massacre’. They were not even ‘massacre’, not to talk of the ‘worst-ever massacre in India.’ Despite this- pseudo-secularists like Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Amulya Ganguly, Prafull Bidwai and other such stark liers- like Tehelka, Congress Party etc have called the 2002 riots as ‘Gujarat massacre’- and lied that there was “Gujarat massacre of Muslims- with the sanction of Narendra Modi”. These people have demanded action against Modi. Far from any action being taken Modi- action needs to be taken against stark liers like Tehelka- the foreign media- i.e. US and British media- and so-called Human Rights organizations in India and abroad- there was no “Gujarat massacre of Muslims” in the 2002 riots- but plain Hindu-Muslim riots- in which hundreds of Hindus were also killed by Muslims even after the gruesome and horrific roasting of 59 Hindus- including 25 women and 15 children in Godhra.

The worst ever massacre was of the Hindus during the medieval times. Timur massacred some 1 lakh Hindus on a single day in Delhi in 1399. Nadirshah, the invader, massacred many people in 1739 in Delhi. The massacres of Hindus in medieval India would have put Hitler’s Nazi death-chambers of the 1930s to shame. These massacres happened under all the medieval rulers of India. Mahmud of Ghazni also massacred many Hindus in between 1001-1027 AD. Mohammad Ghori also did the same between 1192 to 1206. So did all others. The invaders were like a cloud of locusts destroying and devouring everything on their way.

Looking at the modern, independent India, these riots were still absolutey nothing. The worst ever massacre in independent India was of the Hindus in Kashmir, which continues till date. After that, nothing was worse than the 1984 riots, when the Sikhs were massacred by the ruling Congress Party. In Bhagalpur, Bihar under the Congress rule itself more than 1400 people were killed, most of whom were Muslims, after Muslims threw bombs on Hindu localities, and then suffered in retaliation.

Myth 7: Only Muslims were rendered homeless and suffered economically

Fact: As early as 5 March 2002, out of the 98 relief/ refugee camps set up in the state, 85 were for the Muslims and 13 were for the Hindus. As on 17 March 2002, as per the report of a newspaper as anti-BJP as The Times of India, 10,000 Hindus were rendered homeless in Ahmedabad alone. As on 25 April 2002, out of the 1 lakh 40 thousand refugees, some 1 lakh were Muslims and 40 thousand were Hindus.

The Indian Express devoted two full reports exclusively to Hindu victims of Ahmedabad. Dalits were attacked by Muslims in Ahmedabad and were rendered homeless. The Indian Express dated 7th May 2002 and 10th May 2002 gave two reports on the plight of Hindu victims. These Hindus were not only rendered homeless-they did not even have refugee camps to live in-and hence had to live in temples. Many others were forced to squat on the streets.

The Times of India dated 18 March 2002 also devoted a report exclusively to the Hindu victims of Ahmedabad. The report was titled-”Riots hit all classes, people of all faith” and says-”Contrary to popular belief that only Muslims have been affected in the recent riots, more than 10,000 people belonging to the Hindu community have also become homeless”. This was the case only in Ahmedabad. What happened to Hindus in Muslim dominated villages outside Ahmedabad and in other cities like Vadodara was not reported by The Times of India! This report also indicates that Muslims attacked Hindus unprovoked on February 28 itself in some areas of Ahmedabad. The Hindus who living in minority in Muslim dominated areas of Ahmedabad suffered horribly. The Dalits suffered heavily at the hands of Muslims.

This report can be read on http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4193006.cms

The Hindus also suffered economically. As per the reports of none other than The Times of India, as many as 50 Hindus shops were torched in Revdi Bazaar area of Ahmedabad on 23 March 2002 by Muslims. The financial loss was as much as 15 crore rupees. Many more Hindu shops were looted in the rest of Gujarat too.
To read the report of The Times of India on the burning of 50 shops in Ahmedabad- see this link- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4609603.cms

Myth 8: The Gujarat government was involved in the riots

Fact: Gujarat government of the BJP, headed by Narendra Modi was blind to the mushrooming of madrasas in the state. Not only that, the previous government headed by Keshubhai Patel too was equally blind to the same. From India Today we know that it was because of fear of harming the BJP’s newly discovered ‘secular’ image that the party did nothing to control the madrasas.

The government deployed the entire police force of 70,000 on February 27 itself. (See report of The Hindustan Times dated 28 February 2002). The Gujarat government ordered preventive arrests of as many as 827 people on February 27 itself. Shoot-at-sight orders were given in Godhra on February 27. Such orders were also given at many other places after February 27. The Rapid Action Force was deployed in Gujarat on February 27 itself (See The Indian Express dated 28thFebruary 2002). 98 people were

killed in police firing in the first three days.

After 3rd March 2002, the riots were mostly all instigated and

started by the Muslims.

The riots were brought under control in 72 hours. Far from the BJP being in any way involved in the riots, the Congress Party instigated all the riots in the state after 21stApril 2002 so as to target

Narendra Modi in its Modi-hatao campaign. The Rajya Sabha debated on Gujarat on 6 May 2002. The NDA allies’ votes were also going to count. To get NDA allies to vote against the Modi government, the Congress wanted to keep the riots going on in Gujarat. It also hoped for a collapse of the NDA, with allies quitting coalition because of the riots. We will see this in detail later.

Riots in the first three days were all the result of Godhra. But Godhra itself was the brain of local Muslim Congress leaders. Riots were caused after Godhra by the media and the Congress’ inflammatory response to Godhra. Gujarat Congress chief and former Gujarat Chief Minister (the late) Amarsinh Chaudhary justified Godhra on some sort of provocations, i.e. the karsevaks not paying for tea and snacks at the Godhra railway platform which was a figment of his imagination.

The TV channels reported biased and one-sided on the post-Godhra riots, causing tremendous anguish among the masses, causing more and more violence. Their reporting was inflammatory not only after Godhra, but also after post-Godhra. Far from blaming the BJP or the Gujarat government for the riots, the TV channels and the English media should themselves take responsibility for the riots.

The Gujarat police saved as many as 2,500 Muslims in Sanjeli, a town in North Gujarat, 5,000 Muslims in Bodeli, in Vadodara and about 10,000 Muslims in Viramgam. A total of about 24,000 Muslims were saved in the first three days alone. Police officials themselves suffered injuries in trying to save the Muslims, as reported by the weekly India Today.

To see this story- click on the link-

http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20020422/states.shtml

On February 28, the police shot dead 10 Hindus in Ahmedabad alone. The leading most English daily from South India, and an extremely anti-Hindu newspaper, ‘The Hindu’ reported this on 1st March 2002. On 1st March, the police shot dead 17 people in Ahmedabad alone-and at least 8 outside Ahmedabad-as reported by The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002. On 2nd March 2002-police firing resulted in 47 deaths-as reported by The Hindu the next day-i.e. 3rd March 2002. The Indian Express dated 3rd March reported that 77 people were killed in Police/Army firing on 2nd March 2002.

On February 28, The Hindu reported that shoot-at-sight orders had been given by the state government in Godhra-on February 27 and curfew was clamped. Even before a single riot had occurred-the state government had given shoot-at-sight orders.

See the link-

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/02/28/stories/2002022803070100.htm

Thus, in brief, it can be seen that the Gujarat government handled the riots extremely efficiently. The steps taken to control the violence were-

1-The Indian Express dated 28th February 2002 reported that the State Government had deployed the Rapid Action Force in Ahmedabad and other sensitive areas and the Centre sent in CRPF personnel-on February 27 itself even before a single riot had taken place.

2- The Hindu reported in its issue dated 28th February 2002 that “Shoot-at-sight” orders had been given in Godhra on February 27 itself.

3-The Hindustan Times reported in its issue dated 28 February 2002 that the entire police force of 70,000 was deployed in Gujarat on 27 February itself-after the shocking massacre in Godhra-in view of apprehensions that riots might break out.

4-827 preventive arrests were made on the evening of February 27 itself-on Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s orders-on his return to Ahmedabad from Godhra.

5-On February 28 -despite the deployment of the entire police force, the CRPF personnel and the Rapid Action Force-the situation seeped out of control-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.

6-Despite the fact that the situation seeped out of control-the mob sizes were unprecedented-and the police were overwhelmingly outnumbered-the police did its best. The police fired more than 1,000 rounds on the first day of the riots-i.e. February 28.

7-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 1st March 2002-that atleast 10 persons were believed to have been killed in police firing in Ahmedabad alone by evening of February 28. 5 Hindus were shot dead outside Ehsan Jafri’s house on Feb 28-according to India Today weekly-dated 18 March 2002.

8-Curfew was clamped in Godhra on 27 February itself-as reported by The Hindu dated 28 February 2002.

9-An indefinite curfew was clamped in 26 cities and towns in the State, including parts of Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Nadiad, Anand and Kaira on February 28 in addition to the indefinite curfew in force in Godhra since February 27-according to The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.

10- The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, frantically called the Army units to Ahmedabad on February 28-as reported by The Hindu dated 1st March 2002.

11-The Indian Express and The Hindu both reported that Army units started arriving in Ahmedabad on the night of February 28-in their issues the next day-i.e. 1st March 2002. This shows that the Army units reached Ahmedabad so quickly-that the newspapers had the time to report their arrival on February 28 itself and publish it on 1st March!

12-The Army staged a flag march in Ahmedabad on 1st March 2002 at 11:30 AM-as reported by weekly India Today in its issue dated 18th March 2002. The Hindu and The Indian Express and all major dailies also reported that the Army staged flag marches in Ahmedabad-and also Vadodara on 1st March 2002.

13-The Army began flag marches in the worst-affected areas of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot and Godhra cities and the `shoot at sight’ order was extended to all 34 curfew-bound cities and towns in Gujarat on 1st March 2002-as per The Hindu dated 2nd March 2002.

14-The Gujarat police fired a total of 4,000 rounds in the first three days alone. This-despite the presence of the Army for 2 out of the 3 days.

15-The Gujarat police shot dead 98 people in the first three days-majority of whom are Hindus.

16-The Hindu reported in its issue dated 4th March 2002-that only 2 deaths were reported on 3rd March in the entire state-and the violence has ended on 3rd March 2002. Thus-the Gujarat government managed to control the situation in 3 days-even after the shocking massacre in Godhra-while it took previous Congress governments 6 months to stop the riots in 1969 and 1985-even without any cause as Godhra.

As for the Congress hand in organising riots in Gujarat- it is worth seeing the report of rediff.com on 22nd April 2002:

The website www.rediff.com reported on 22nd April 2002-
“Gujarat home minister sees plot to break NDA

Sheela Bhatt in Mumbai

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadaphia has blamed the Congress for the fresh spurt in violence in the state on Sunday, which cost 21 people their lives, saying the opposition party was trying desperately to break the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

“Yesterday’s riots in Ahmedabad’s Gomtipur and Rakhiyal area were planned,” Zadaphia told rediff.com “The Congress and the minority community do not want peace. The Congress wants to break the NDA alliance in Delhi by fuelling riots in Gujarat. Political parties in India are in the race for appeasing the minorities. They will not say a word against the Jama Masjid imam’s speech yesterday, where he incited Muslims to break India.”

According to Zadaphia, the Congress plan is “to continue the rioting, raise the issue in Parliament, force the NDA partners to raise their voices and, in turn, force the Modi government to resign”.

Corporators like Badruddin Sheikh and Taufik Pathan and their sons were leading the crowd, he alleged. “The crowd wanted to attack the colonies and kill as many as they can,” he said. “It was a serious attack. The railway tracks were full of people with bombs and weapons in their hands.”

Asked about six Muslims being shot by the police at point-blank range, he retorted, “What do you expect the police to do when Amar Patil, my constable, was stabbed to death just outside the masjid? At another place six SRP [State Reserve Police] men were injured when the minority crowd attacked them? Do you have any idea of the impact on the morale of the police?”

Zadaphia claimed that Pathan and Sheikh were bent upon disrupting the current high school exams. “They are harassing Muslim students,” he said. “In relief camps and Muslim areas they have announced on loudspeakers that Muslim students shall give college exams, but not the 10th and 12th standard exams.”

The minister said the ‘disruptive elements’ were upset because 98 per cent of students have appeared in the exams. “Their supporters are forcing students to get down from buses provided by the government,” he claimed. “They are tearing away the entry receipts of the students. What does this mean?”

Zadaphia promised that he would arrest the people who were inciting communal tensions to disrupt the exams. “We will break the 50-year-old negative psyche of such people,” he said.

Naresh Rawal, leader of the Congress in the assembly, dismissed the minister’s allegations. “The NDA will be dismantled soon for other reasons,” he told rediff.com “These are bogus allegations. Modi is failing to maintain law and order. He is the number one villain in India today. People’s perception is that Modi connived with the rioters. He should go. Let the BJP get a new CM and stop making such baseless allegations.”

Doesn’t this report give an indication of the situation prevailing in Gujarat at that time? Even The Hindu reported that 5 leaders of the Congress were instigating Muslims to boycott the exams- along with the radical Muslim organization- Tableeghi Jamaat.

The link for this is-

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/apr/22bhatt.htm

Myth 9: Gujarat riots were like the 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Fact: There was a contrast of day and night in these two riots. NDTV, the mouthpiece of the CPI (M), and company, and other stark liers like Arundhati Roy, Teesta Setalavad, and others deliberately misled the nation by equating the two riots. In May-June 2005, NDTV deliberately asked a question to its viewers in its programme “Khabron ki Khabar” (anchored by Vinod Dua):

“Which of these issues are you most bothered about?

1- Sachin Tendulkar’s injury

2- A question on films

3- The blot on BJP and the Congress for the Gujarat and 1984 riots

This question’s options, just like any other of NDTV, are typically Marxist. Option 3 belies the reality and equates the 1984 riots with the Gujarat riots, and directly accuses the BJP of orchestrating the riots.

The next chapter will comprehensively point out the differences between the Gujarat riots and the 1984 riots. In 1984, the Sikhs were butchered. In 2002, Muslims attacked Hindus and as many as 254 Hindus were killed in the Gujarat riots. In 1984, riots occurred outside New Delhi, including places like West Bengal, while not a single riot occurred outside Gujarat in 2002.

In 1984, officially 3,000 Sikhs were killed and many more in actual. Not a single Congressman was killed in 1984 riots (except Indira Gandhi) while as many as 313 Hindus were killed in Gujarat in 2002 AD, including 59 karsevaks killed in Godhra.

Not even one person was killed in 1984 in police firing, while nearly 200 people were killed in the Gujarat riots of 2002 AD. 40,000 Hindus were living in refugee camps in Gujarat, while not even a single relief camp was organized for the Sikhs in 1984, not to talk of any Congressman needing to live in refugee camps. Not only was there a huge difference in the nature of the riots- there was also a huge difference in the government handling of the riots.

There are many more details of these contrasts. For full details of these contrasts- see the next chapter. Click on the link:

http://www.gujaratriots.com/category/07-contrasts-between-1984-and-gujarat-2002-riots/

Myth 10: Gujarat became a dangerous place to live in, in 2002

Fact:: The opinion poll by the weekly India Today in its issue dated 25 November 2002 asked a question to its respondents- “Do you feel secure living in Gujarat today?” in which more than 68 % people including more than 56 % Muslims felt secure. While commenting on the entire poll, India Today reported, “Voters have rallied solidly behind the chief minister’s aggressive posturing. They have endorsed his view of the riots being a reaction to Godhra. They approve his fulmination against outsiders who have vilified the state. And they contemptuously dismiss all suggestions that Gujarat has become a dangerous place to live in.”

The newspaper editors lied along with 24-hour TV news channels like NDTV that the whole of Gujarat was burning. Living outside Gujarat and lying about the state, their lies did not go well with the masses. The media lied to such an unimaginable extent that the media itself by now may have started believing its concocted liies.

To see the full India Today report see this link-

http://archives.digitaltoday.in/indiatoday/20021125/cover2.html

Myth 11: In Ehsan Jafri’s case, women were raped

Fact: The following is some part of Arundhati Roy’s article in weekly Outlook dated 6 May 2002 on the Ehsan Jafri case:

“Last night a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutes to tell me what the matter was. It wasn’t very complicated. Only that Sayeeda, a friend of hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been ripped open and stuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone carved ‘OM‘ on her forehead…

…A mob surrounded the house of former Congress MP Iqbal Ehsan Jaffri. His phone calls to the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) were ignored. The mobile police vans around his house did not intervene. The mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burned them alive. Then they beheaded Ehsan Jaffri and dismembered him. Of course it’s only a coincidence that Jaffri was a trenchant critic of Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, during his campaign for the Rajkot Assembly by-election in February…”

Outlook had the guts to publish a rebuttal from a senior functionary of the BJP, the then Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Punj. The following was the reply:
“Fiddling With Facts As Gujarat Burns

Introduction: The Roys in the media are harming India with half-truths and worse.

“(Here Balbir Punj quotes some sentences from Roy’s article dated 6th May 2002)…

That was the Goddess of small things, Arundhati Roy, painting the big picture of Gujarat in Democracy: Who’s she when she’s at home? (Outlook, May 6, 2002). Roy sums here neatly almost all the charges against the Sangh Parivar. When a reputed weekly like Outlook publishes a Booker Prize-winner, it is meant to be serious commentary. And concomitantly, Roy has put her brilliant linguistic skills to the service of “truth”. Read her graphic details—”The mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burnt them alive”. Roy speaks with the confidence of an eyewitness. Alternatively, she must’ve access to an eyewitness. Anyway, it reads heart-rendingly honest.

Heart-rending, yes, but honest, no. Jaffri was killed in the riots but his daughters were neither “stripped” nor “burnt alive”. T.A. Jafri, his son, in a front-page interview titled Nobody knew my father’s house was the target (Asian Age, May 2, Delhi edition), says, “Among my brothers and sisters, I am the only one living in India. And I am the eldest in the family. My sister and brother live in the US. I am 40 years old and I have been born and brought up in Ahmedabad.”

So, Roy is lying—for surely Jafri is not. But what about the hundreds of media lies that haven’t been exhumed as yet? Her seven-page long (approx: 6,000 words) hate charter against India and the Sangh Parivar is woven around just two specific cases of human tragedy, one of which—by now, we know for sure—is a piece of fiction…

…She terms Gujarat the “petri dish” of the Sangh Parivar. The fact is that Godhra has been used as a crucible by the secular fundamentalists. No wonder, after the roasting of the Ram sevaks, they, while condemning the crime, blamed the victims. Many of them invented events such as a quarrel with hawkers, misbehaviour with women and shouting of provocative slogans to justify the horrendous crime…

…But was what happened in Gujarat a “pogrom” targeted at Muslims? Loss of 900-odd innocent lives (both Hindus and Muslims) is definitely not a “genocide” of any one community. Yet it is one more shameful event in the long and unfortunate chain of communal riots in India, since the 1893 Bombay and Azamgarh riots. Beginning from the 1714 Holi riots in the Mughal period, Ahmedabad itself has witnessed no less than 10 major recorded riots.

The Sangh Parivar was not there in 1714, nor was it a dominant force during the ‘69 and ‘85 riots. So what explains these riots when Gujarat was not a ‘Sangh Parivar petri dish’?

Out of those who perished in the communal frenzy, over one-third are Hindus.

Following Godhra, massive spontaneous violence broke out in various parts of Gujarat against the Muslims. Since the rioters were mainly Hindus, they also accounted for about 75 per cent of those who fell to police bullets in the first three days. In fact, till April 18 Hindus accounted for more deaths in police firing than Muslims.

But for almost three weeks now, the violence has been led by Muslims against Hindus and, naturally, a bulk of the casualties are accounted for by them. The police have booked 34,000 rioters, majority of whom are Hindus. Both communities have suffered heavy loss of business and property in the arson and looting. While rioters are communal in picking their targets, looters are not—and they target at random. One lakh Muslims are struggling in relief camps, but so are 40,000 Hindus. This is a horrible riot, which is sad enough, but why call it a genocide? Whom does it help? Not the riot victims, only our enemies across the border.

The country hasn’t suffered so much loss of face in the world as it has now, though it is like one of the scores of riots India has seen. Why? The obvious culprits are those who set ablaze a compartment full of innocent kar sevaks at Godhra and those who indulged in the senseless violence in the following weeks. But the real villains in tarring India’s image are the Roys in the media and a section of public life, who mix half-truths with fiction to settle their ideological or political scores with the Sangh Parivar.

Roy (a role model for several in the secular pack) opens her hate charter with the case of a woman named Sayeeda “whose stomach was ripped open and stuffed with burning rags”. I heard similar horror stories in Parliament. The most frequently quoted were the cases of women raped (in some cases gang-raped), their stomachs ripped open, foetuses taken out and paraded on swords or trishuls. But no one was able to give me even one specific case with all the particulars. Roy gave one, but it proved to be a piece of fiction…

… Blatant myths and fiction have lacerated the facts on Gujarat. The Times of India (March 3) reported Modi’s much-publicised misquote of Newton’s third law—”Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. In fact, the CM had never said such a thing and no other paper except for Times of India had carried the misquote in its original reportage. But later on, numerous editorials were penned on the basis of this canard. All his denials were thrown in the dustbin…

…The Editor’s Guild came down heavily on the Gujarati press and hailed the role of the English press in coverage of the riots. The former might have been guilty of exaggeration but I am sure it has not concocted stories the way the Roys did in the English media. Surprisingly, the Guild has nothing critical to say on the role of the electronic media and of the Roys, guilty of blackening India’s name, generating more communal hate at a critical time and demonising a section of citizens through half-truths and complete lies. Some rioters may be guilty of rape and should be punished for their heinous crimes, but what about those who have raped the truth and the country in the last two months?”

This really gave the game up. After this, Arundhati Roy wrote “An apology”. The full text of that apology is reproduced here:

“To the Jaffri Family, An Apology

Democracy

In a situation like the one that prevails in Gujarat, when the police are reluctant to register FIRs, when the administration is openly hostile to those trying to gather facts, and when the killings go on unabated—then panic, fear and rumour play a pivotal role. People who have disappeared are presumed dead, people who have been dismembered and burnt cannot be identified, and people who are distraught and traumatised are incoherent.

So even when those of us who write try and use the most reliable sources, mistakes can happen. But in an atmosphere so charged with violence, grief and mistrust, it’s important to correct mistakes that are pointed out.

There is a factual error in my essay Democracy: Where’s she when she’s at home? (May 6). In describing the brutal killing of Ehsan Jaffri, I have said that his daughters had been killed along with their father. It has subsequently been pointed out to me that this is not correct. Eyewitness accounts say that Ehsan Jaffri was killed along with his three brothers and two nephews. His daughters were not among the 10 women who were raped and killed in Chamanpura that day.

I apologise to the Jaffri family for compounding their anguish. I’m truly sorry.

My information (mis-information, as it turned out) was cross-checked from two sources. Time magazine (March 11) in an article by Meenakshi Ganguly and Anthony Spaeth; and “Gujarat Carnage 2002: A Report to the Nation” by an independent fact-finding mission which included K.S. Subrahmanyam, former IGP Tripura, and S.P. Shukla, former finance secretary. I spoke to Mr Subrahmanyam about the error. He said his information at that time came from a senior police official.

This and other genuine errors in recounting the details of the violence in Gujarat in no way alters the substance of what journalists, fact-finding missions, or writers like myself are saying.”

The link is: http://www.outlookindia.com/rants.asp?type=single&id=20020527133759

Years later, Balbir Punj wrote in weekly Organiser dated 9 July 2006:

“Some four years ago I had a clash in print with Arundhati Roy. The occasion was the Gujarat riots that had come as a windfall to ‘secular’ brigade’s publicity campaign. Those ‘secularists’ are no where visible, not even with a telescope, when Hindus are killed in Doda. Roy, in her article Who’s she when she is at home? (The Outlook May 6, 2002) had given a vivid account of a mob attack on house of ex-Congress MP Iqbal Ehshan Jafri, who was unfortunately killed in the riots. Roy gave a graphic detail-“mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burnt them alive”.

This event became a media-occasion for Roy to demonise Hindutva. But those who had read The Asian Age (May 2, 2002) would not have been impressed because in it late Ehshan Jaffri’s son T.A. Jaffri said -“Among my brothers and sisters, I am the only one living in India. And I am the eldest in the family. My sister and brother live in the US. I am 40 years old and I have been born and brought up in Ahmedabad”. So Roy was describing the stripping and killing of Ehshan Jafri’s daughter’s in Gujarat riots, who in reality were safe in another part of the globe.

Roy had begun her charter of hate with another damning description: “Last night a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutes to tell me what the matter was. It wasn’t very complicated. Only that Sayeeda, a friend of hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been ripped open and stuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone carved ‘OM’ on her forehead”.

Shocked by this despicable “incident”, I got in touch with the Gujarat government. The police investigations revealed that no such case, involving someone called Sayeeda, had been reported either in urban or rural Baroda. Subsequently, the police sought Roy’s help to identify the victim and seek access to witnesses who could lead them to those guilty of this crime. But the police got no cooperation. Instead, Roy, through her lawyer, replied that the police had no power to issue summons. Thus she hedged behind technical excuses. I took up this incident in my rejoinder published as Dissimulation In Word and Images (The Outlook, July 8, 2002).”

See link:

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=138&page=8

However, here it is worth mentioning a couple of things which even Balbir Punj did not mention. This apology is also false, since Roy claims that 10 women were raped and killed that day. In reality, after reading the then English newspapers in the first week of March 2002, one finds no mention of any rapes at all. These stories of rape starting coming out in the middle of March 2002, after Time magazine concocted lies in its issue of 11 March 2002, copied by Arundhati Roy. Neither Roy nor the Time correspondent can point out any rapes, because they just didn’t happen.

Second incorrect fact- the police did nothing to stop the mob in Jafri’s house. India Today weekly dated 18 March 2002 clearly admits that at least 5 people were shot dead by the police outside Jafri’s house. The police also saved the lives of some 200 Muslims, since only 40 out of the 250 people inside the house died. It was impossible for the police to control the mob of around 10,000 people.

Another incorrect fact- mentioned by Roy was that 150 people were killed in the complex. Actually- the number is around 50. Out of the 250 people in the complex- police saved around 200.

Even the National Commission for Women in its report stated that the media needlessly exaggerated the plight of women victims of the communal carnage. On 22nd

April 2002- Tehelka’s website said–“Nafisa Hussain, a member of the NCW, has gone on record saying that several organisations and the media have needlessly blown out of proportion the violence suffered by minority women in the communal riots of Gujarat.”

Myth 12: The photo of Qutubuddin Ansari is genuine

Fact: This photo is reproduced here in this book on page 92. This photo has been used repeatedly to tarnish the name of BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal throughout India. The victim, Qutubuddin Ansari, is seen pleading for mercy to the rioters. Later he is shown in Kolkata, living happily on the help given by the West Bengal government which is of the CPI (M) and Left parties. questions that arise, and which were aptly raised by the RSS chief K S Sudarshan in his speech in Nagpur on 4th

October 2003 are:

1-If Mr Qutubuddin Ansari was seen pleading for mercy to rioters on the first floor of a building, how is it that no rioter is seen in the photo?

2-How and why did the rioters leave him alive and not kill him?

3-How was the photographer allowed to take the photo by the rioters? Why did they not attack him?

4-How, at least, did the rioters not destroy his camera if they would have left both Ansari and the photographer alive?

And I add a couple more:

5-Can the photographer, Mr. Arko Datta of the Reuters, explain any of the above questions?

6- Can Mr Ansari answer any of the above questions and other questions which may be raised on this issue now that he lives happily in Kolkata?

This tale of lies and myths is unending. It can go on and on and on. We will, however, need to conclude this chapter here itself. An enterprising writer would do well to compile an encyclopedia of these media lies on the entire Gujarat scenario. He can start with media lies on Godhra, on concocting imaginary ‘provocations’ for Godhra, the lies concocted on the post-Godhra riots-such as the extent of the riots, the number of people killed, the imaginary tales and stories of unnamed victims, the rapes and murders of innocent people, etc etc. And he can conclude with the media’s malicious reporting during the Gujarat Assembly elections of December 2002 when the media was the Congress’ pillar and tried to defeat the BJP. The BJP, which suffers the maximum damage from these lies, has unwisely allowed the media to escape the courts for one-sided, malicious lies.

Myth 13: Narendra Modi said-“Every action has equal and opposite reaction”

Fact: Balbir Punj writes-“Blatant myths and fiction have lacerated the facts on Gujarat. The Times of India (March 3) reported Modi’s much-publicised misquote of Newton’s third law—”Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. In fact, the CM had never said such a thing and no other paper except for Times of India had carried the misquote in its original reportage. But later on, numerous editorials were penned on the basis of this canard. All his denials were thrown in the dustbin…”

Virendra Kapoor wrote in Cybernoon on 19 March 2002-

“An angry Modi wrote to the English daily, which had first put the quote in his mouth, protesting that he had never met its correspondent nor had he an occasion to say what he had been quoted as having said and that it was only fair that the paper made amends for its wholly ‘inventive reportage.’ The newspaper editors, however, refused to do so and two weeks later were still sitting on Modi’s letter. Left to himself perhaps the paper’s senior-most editor may well have published Modi’s letter but since his writ does not run and the place is teeming with new-fangled journalists who openly talk of blacking out all news about the Sangh Parivar, and the paper’s management is only obsessed with packing nothing other than revenue-earning advertisement in its columns, Modi’s letter has not been published. Modi, therefore, is not entirely wrong in complaining of the bias of the media and the attempt to tar his image. For, the quote in the said paper was immediately recycled and rehashed by the rest of the print and audio visual media.

Inquiries reveal that no one from the paper had met the Gujarat Chief Minister on the day he is supposed to have quoted

Newton’s law to its correspondent to justify the revenge killings of the minority community in Ahmedabad and other places in the state. The paper’s editors too have concluded that the said quote was ‘invented’ by the correspondent to indicate ‘the attitude of the Modi government.’ Indeed, it was all a cooked up job to justify what the paper’s deputy bureau chief in New Delhi said at a gathering of secularist scribes to ‘fight the fascist forces and not to give them any space in ‘our’ papers.’

Time the owners woke up to this little upstart who seeks to usurp the ownership of their paper for his own brand of fascism.

Meanwhile, Modi is contemplating taking his complaint to the Press Council of India.”

See link: http://www.fisiusa.org/fisi_News_items/Godhra/godhra058.htm

When anyone makes an allegation- he has to prove it. No one has ever been able to prove that Modi ever uttered these words. And these people- far from apologizing- have not even published Modi’s denials.

Myth 14: Sangh Parivar organisations like VHP organized the riots

Fact: Out of Gujarat’s 18,600 villages, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had units in 10,000 villages at the time of the riots of 2002. If it had wanted- it could have easily organized retaliatory riots in many of these 10,000 villages. Instead-only 40 out of the state’s 18,600 villages saw riots. VHP General Secretary Dr Praveen Togadia is a Patel and hails from Saurashtra region of Gujarat- just like Keshubhai Patel. And yet- no riots happened in Saurashtra at all!

On the other hand- the scale of the riots on February 28 in Ahmedabad was so large- that no organisation- or group of organisations-like the Sangh Parivar could have done it alone. It was a spontaneous mass reaction to the Godhra killings.

Many people have asked-“On one hand you say- nothing happened-hardly 40 villages saw riots. On the other hand- you say that the riots were so enormous that they could not have been organized by anyone”.

Both these things are simultaneously true. On February 28 in Ahmedabad- there were 17,000 people attacking Muslims in Naroda Patiya area- as per the report of the then Police Inspector of the area- K.K. Mysorewala. India Today weekly also reports in its issue dated 18 March 2002- that the Charas had attacked in Naroda Patiya leading 3 mobs of at least 4 to 5 thousand each. At one point of time-in Ahmedabad there were at least 25,000 people targeting Muslim localities. The police force of 6,000 for Ahmedabad out of which only 1500 were armed- and the Rapid Action Force and the CRPF jawans could not control the violence. The Hindu also reported the next day that the situation seemed to slip out of control. Ahmedabad Police received 3,500 calls instead of the normal 200. It was beyond the means of the Sangh Parivar- or anybody to organise mobs on such a large scale-in Ahmedabad within 24 hours.

However- the VHP could have easily organised riots in many of the 10,000 villages in Gujarat where it had units- either on February 28- or days after that.

On February 27 occurred the Godhra massacre. That same day- the RSS gave a statement saying- “RSS condemns the killings and calls for restraint”. The Hindu also reported in its report on Feb 28 that the “RSS appealed to the people to exercise restraint”.

The then RSS General Secretary Mohan Bhagwat said-“Now is the test of the patience of the Hindu society…These killings are a ploy of the terrorists to create riots…”. This was reported in weekly Organiser- the weekly mouthpiece of the RSS- in its issue dated 10 March 2002- which covered events till 27 February. The weekly India Today in its issue dated 11 March 2002 covered events till 28 February. In the 10 March 2002 issue itself-two RSS leaders- Madan Das Devi and Mohan Bhagwat gave statement’s asking the Hindu society to maintain peace. The Telegraph reported on 28th

February 2002-

“The RSS rallied behind the Prime Minister, pleading for restraint. Joint general secretary Madan Das Devi said: “The tolerance of the Hindu society is a litmus test. Instead of taking the law into their hands, people should cooperate with the state government in dealing with the serious situation.”

See link:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1020228/front_pa.htm#head1

See the statement by Madan Das Devi in the topic- “Nation faces trial by fire” 9th paragraph from the top.

On 2nd March 2002- www.rediff.com reported quoting Agencies:

“RSS, VHP appeal for peace in Gujarat

In the wake of mounting violence in Gujarat, the RSS and VHP on Saturday appealed to their volunteers to avoid any action that would disturb peace in the country and expressed hope that ‘good sense will prevail’.

“I appeal to all RSS volunteers, sympathisers and friends who have faith in Hindutva to do their utmost in preventing any activity – like sloganeering and stone-pelting – that would disrupt peace, keeping in view the disturbed situation in the country for it would only strengthen the hands of anti-national terrorist elements,” RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat said in a statement in Delhi.

He urged followers of other faiths not to fall prey to the instigation of terrorist elements and ‘to conduct themselves as children of India along with their Hindu brethren’.

Meanwhile, the VHP also made an appeal to put an end to the ongoing violence in Gujarat, saying ‘any kind of violence against anyone’ was a matter of concern.

Talking to reporters in Delhi, VHP spokesman Veereshwar Dwivedi said: “The Godhra incident and the violence that followed was tragic. Any kind of violence against anyone is a matter of concern.”

Calling for an end to the ongoing carnage in Gujarat, he said: “Good sense must prevail soon.”

Dwivedi also condoled the deaths and expressed sympathies for those affected by the violence in the state.

He, however, regretted that opposition parties had decided to send a delegation to Gujarat to assess the situation but did not consider it appropriate to do so after the Godhra killings.

Dwivedi said this was being done taking vote bank politics into consideration.

Agencies”

The URL for this is:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/02train10.htm

Myth 15: Narendra Modi gave free hand to rioters for 3 days

Fact: This much-repeated nonsensical allegation is baseless. Narendra Modi frantically called the Army units to Ahmedabad on February 28- as per the report of The Hindu the next day. India Today weekly’s report ‘Chronology of a Crisis’ on this topic in its issue dated 18 March 2002 also proves this beyond doubt.

The fact is- that the Army staged a flag march in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Godhra on 1st March- i.e. the 2nd day. So there was no question of giving anyone a free hand. The blatant lie was repeated many times in the media. The TV channel CNN-IBN on its Hindi channel reported on 26 October 2007- by writing on TV screens- “There was given 3 days time to kill in Gujarat”. The fact is- out of the 3 days- the Army was present in 2 days- and the extent of violence was far less as compared to the first day. The Hindu itself reported on 3rd March 2002- that the situation improved in Ahmedabad on 2nd March- i.e. the 3rd day of the riots.

Moreover-there was already a minority backlash on the 2nd day of the riots- i.e. on 1st March the Muslims started a backlash in Ahmedabad- as reported by The Hindu the next day. The question of the next two days does not arise- even on February 28- when the Army was not present- the police shot dead 10 Hindus in Ahmedabad alone- and 26 were injured. The police fired around 1,000 rounds- out of which 600 were fired in Ahmedabad alone-on February 28. Police saved 2500 Muslims from certain death in Sanjeli- a town in North Gujarat on 1st March 2002- i.e. the 2nd day of the riots.

Narendra Modi did not even give 3 minutes- not to talk of 3 days to the rioters. He had ordered 827 preventive arrests on February 27 itself- and given shoot-at-sight at Godhra on February 27 itself at 9:45 AM- only 2 hours after the Godhra carnage. The entire police force was deployed in Gujarat in view of apprehension that riots might break out on February 27 itself. The Rapid Action Force was deployed in Ahmedabad and other sensitive areas and the Centre sent in CRPF personnel-on February 27 itself! All this was reported by various English newspapers-like The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Tribune, The Hindustan Times etc the next day- i.e. 28 February.

To see the report- click on the link- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2256789.cms

The Tribune’s report can be read on- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020228/main1.htm

Also- Defence Minister George Fernandes was in Ahmedabad on 1st March at 1:00 AM on Narendra Modi’s request. And the next day- he was bravely on Ahmedabad’s streets at a great risk to personal life. If Modi gave a free hand for 3 days- then why did he call George Fernandes?

On Feb 27 itself- www.rediff.com reported- “The situation became tense as news of the incident spread to other parts of the state prompting the state government to initiate precautionary security measures. Security has been tightened in Godhra and other parts of Gujarat.”
The Link for this report is:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train.htm

Rediff.com also reported quoting PTI on Feb 28 evening that-“The army has been asked to stand by and the Rapid Action Force and the Central Industrial Security Force have been deployed in Ahmedabad and other places.”
The link for this report is-

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train15.htm

Rediff.com reported on Feb 27 itself- after Godhra that- “Two companies of the Rapid Action Force and one company of the State Reserve Police were deployed at Godhra to guard against further outbreak of violence.”
The link for the report: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/27train4.htm
On Feb 28- curfew was imposed in Baroda at 8 Am in the morning itself- as reported by rediff.com the same day. The report says-

“Indefinite curfew was imposed in the city from 0800 hours following the stabbing incidents, a senior police official said.

Curfew had been imposed in the six police station areas of the walled city (i.e. Ahmedabad) and RAF and CISF companies have been deployed in sensitive areas, Police Commissioner Deen Dayal Tuteja said.

Indefinite curfew has also been imposed in Lunawada town of Panchmahal district after 0200 hours on Wednesday night following incidents of arson and looting, he said.

Meanwhile, indefinite curfew, imposed in Godhra town after the attack on the train on Wednesday, continued on Thursday without any relaxation.

No untoward incident was reported during the curfew so far, police said.

The situation had remained peaceful and under control in other parts of the state during the night, police said.”

The link is- http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/feb/28train1.htm

On the 2nd day of the riots- Shoot-at-sight orders were extended to Ahmedabad as well. The report of rediff.com on 1st March 2002 was-

“Alarmed by the unabated incidents of violence in the city, the Gujarat government on Friday issued shoot-at-sight orders to the police against those indulging in arson and violence.
The announcement was made by Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, official sources said. Modi has issued directives to the police to deal ’strictly with arsonists and if need be shoot-at-sight any person indulging in rioting’, they added.

Meanwhile, the army staged flag marches in the violence-hit areas of Ahmedabad – Daraipur, Shahpur, Shahibaug and Naroda – to instill confidence among the people as unabated violence has claimed 111 lives in the city alone so far.

The army personnel were out in different areas like Daraipur, Shahpur, Shahibaug and Naroda, police said.”

Link: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/01train4.htm

In chapter 2 we have already seen the reports of The Hindu and The Indian Express to know the steps taken by the Gujarat government to curb the violence. The Telegraph-published from Kolkata also reported on 1st March 2002-

“ (On Feb 28) The Vajpayee government, alarmed that law and order were spiralling out of control, ordered deployment of the army in the state. The army has already begun pre-deployment drills in violence-scarred areas and will be out latest by tomorrow morning. Defence minister George Fernandes is travelling to Gujarat tomorrow…Curfew was clamped in 26 towns… “There is a fire inside us. Our blood is boiling,” Mangalben, a woman from Dariapur, said. “What is the fault of those children who died? There is a volcano of anger.”

In other words-there was a volcano of anger among the masses- whose blood was boiling after the Muslims brutally roasted 59 kar sewaks including 15 children in Godhra. On the events of 1st March 2002- The Telegraph reported in its issue dated 2nd March-

“A funeral procession cast away its veil of mourning and exploded into a mob of killers, torching houses inside which the pursued were huddled. Official sources said eight people died in the incident, but unofficial estimates put the toll at above 30.

An agency report suggested vengeance for the death of three persons earlier in the day as the motive for the attack at Pandarwada, 70 km from Godhra….

Despite the presence of the army — some 3,500 soldiers have arrived in the state — in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, the rioting has not stopped.”

And they say that Narendra Modi gave 3 days to the rioters to kill! They demand that the BJP and Narendra Modi should ‘apologize’ for the Gujarat riots. They should realize and so also the BJP spokespersons who come on TV and miserably fail to point out the truth- that it is not Narendra Modi who should apologize- but the entire media- for lying and lying, exaggerating, defaming Narendra Modi. The media can be tried under Section 153-A (Creating enmity between two groups)- because of its one-sided reporting- and Section 500 of IPC- (Defaming)- for needlessly defaming BJP, Sangh Parivar and Narendra Modi- and also tarnishing the image of India.

This tale of lies and myths is unending. It can go on and on and on. We will, however, need to conclude this chapter here itself. An enterprising writer would do well to compile an encyclopedia of these media lies on the entire Gujarat scenario. He can start with media lies on Godhra, on concocting imaginary ‘provocations’ for Godhra, the lies concocted on the post-Godhra riots-such as the extent of the riots, the number of people killed, the imaginary tales and stories of unnamed victims, the rapes and murders of innocent people, etc etc. And he can conclude with the media’s malicious reporting during the Gujarat Assembly elections of December 2002 when the media was the Congress’ pillar and tried to defeat the BJP. The BJP, which suffers the maximum damage from these lies, has unwisely allowed the media to escape the courts for one-sided, malicious lies.

Varun Gandhi speech

Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,

There has to be something magical about travelling halfway across the world to find at the end of the journey, a piece of home. Thank you for making me so welcome. Being here with you is a reminder that no matter how far we may come, both in terms of distance and achievement, we remain essentially Indian – people who eat with our hands and speak from our hearts. Some things don’t change.

But there are others that can and do. Years ago many of you dared to give up the security of home and family to venture to a new land in search of a dream. Today I would like to see India become that dream, holding out a promise so powerful, it will lure back all of her children – including, hopefully, yours.

I refer not to the inflated rhetoric we’re are bombarded with – world’s next superpower, the Indian century, the future is India and other such false visions of grandeur. Sure, we may be growing at breakneck speed but let’s never forget that many Indians still don’t get enough to eat. In fact we have nearly 40% of the world’s malnourished children. With one sixth of humanity, India accounts for 36% of the world’s poor which means more than the whole of Africa living on less than ONE dollar a day.

In a country abundant in human and natural resources imagine 77% of its total population being classified as poor and vulnerable. I submit that India is not a poor country but a poorly managed country. But by adopting outdated policies, we are wasting productive lives, and weakening democracy to the point where it only functions through patronage of various kinds.

From the time I was little I remember people streaming in with problems regarding gas and telephone connections, housing, school admissions, job opportunities. When I asked why my mother always extended herself to help, she explained that since we had failed to create a system where basics were a matter of right and routine, she believed it was incumbent upon anyone who could help to do so.

25 years later, constitutional guarantees still remain out of reach of the vast majority. That’s not fair. And that’s not democracy. Every Indian must be assured dignity, justice and the opportunity to earn and care for their families and leave something better for their children. What we need is a model of development harnessed to the future not shackled to the past.

Today, 60% or 630 million Indians, that’s double the entire US population are under the age of 30. This is the world’s greatest workforce. And our greatest resource. How we utilize it will determine the future of India and the world.

What I would like to share with you today is an unabashedly idealistic vision of a new, efficient and reinvigorated India.

Most of the young people in this audience know India primarily through their parents’ fond memories. I’ve thought long and hard over what to say to you today. Please forgive me as I replace the rose tint with the reality of modern India. And understand that it is not because I love India less but because I love India so much that I believe it necessary to examine and scrutinize and fault find so that we may swiftly course correct to become the world beaters that I know we are capable of being.

From our tax tangle to our legal labyrinths, It’s not hard to find things that need fixing in India. For most however, poverty remains the fundamental issue. And it’s true that 40 years after the Garibi Hatao poll promise and billions of dollars poured into poverty alleviation programmes, we are still overwhelmingly poor.

I see poverty and wealth as part of the same spiral. You either go up or down. At the extreme ends the conditions are aggravated. The super rich just get richer. In 2008 a tiny 0.01% of the population owned 35% of the country’s wealth, with the top four having the combined net worth of 16% of the total GDP. At the bottom, the poor get poorer.

Sukh Ram is a farmer with 6 children. He mortgaged his land to get his daughter married. Now with the monsoon and his crops failing, he cannot repay the moneylender. He faces the prospect of becoming a landless labourer or committing suicide. Similar stories of destitution and desperation occur all the time all across the land. Even so and even though surrounded by its cruel and constant reminders, I do not regard poverty as either inevitable, or incurable. I do not even see it as the root cause of our condition.

Poverty is only a symptom – perhaps the most obvious, the most serious and certainly the most soul destroying but still only a symptom of a deeper underlying malaise. There are others too like the lack of big ideas needed to cope with a country of 1.4 billion that is still producing 6-8 children per rural family. Like the crippling ill health that grips our people, like the frustrating unemployment that saps the spirit of our young, like the frequency of the failures of our monsoon and crops. We can talk about India being the next super power, we can produce a fashionable number of billionaires, we can manage IT technology, but we have not been able to do anything about our bone grinding, crushing poverty caused and perpetuated by inept management and a tragic failure of leadership.

It will need more than a single speech, it will need vigorous debate, but what I shall touch on today are the crucial components of health and education to demonstrate that another India is possible.

Officially there are only about 70 lakh children outside the school system. But of the 13 crore children in elementary school, we have a drop-out rate of over 50%. Worst of all, the govt education that we provide is entirely meaningless. The syllabus is over 30 years old, the books are written by bureaucrats or their relatives, the information is skewed and inessential.

The debate that the Education Ministry generates is never about the quality of education and whether it equips the poorest child in the poorest village with the requisite knowledge to cope in the outside world. The debate is simply about how many exams we should have in one year, how many schools should be built, whether and what student quotas or reservations should be introduced and whether the midday meal should consist of fresh or packaged food and whether it is getting past the principal’s family or not. The quality of teachers and teaching material is seen as irrelevant. So our children will graduate from school with full stomachs but empty minds.

Skill –based education is looked down upon as ‘vocational’ training and almost entirely ignored. Compare our workforce with its 2% skill training to that of Korea with 96% and Japan with 80%. Our agricultural universities have no reference to local agro-climatic situations eg in the current drought situation, we find we have no drought resistant seeds. Instead of experimenting, innovating and developing practical applications, they concentrate on outdated and cumbersome theory. There are no skill updation institutes for farmers, no formalized training institutes to teach them modern agricultural practices or how to value add to produce or even simple marketing techniques. The Krishi Vigyan Kendras which were set up 60 years ago, shut shop 30 years ago leaving a thirty year gap in agricultural knowledge. The result is that though we had plenty of warning about the impending monsoon failure, no anticipatory action were taken because we have no trained people either in our agricultural fields or in policy making.

Govt run industrial training institutes for low skilled industrial labour do not reflect market needs. We have no schools to provide formal training for vast armies of plumbers, masons, cooks, contractors, carpenters, forest developers, guards, etc. We simply expect these skills to be passed down within families or communities. There is not a single subject in any school that teaches entrepreneurship. Imagine how useful such study might have been in this time of recession. The lack of it probably explains why there is so little cottage industry in our villages in spite of so much
opportunity.

We have no courses that would teach a poor villager how to apply for a loan, handle a bank account, or even avail of any of the schemes supposedly for his benefit. There is not a single school or college that has useful environmental textbooks – long after the Supreme Court ordered environmental education to be compulsory. In fact no government school has the information as no books have yet been written. So we do not learn that there is no rain to be expected as its stabilization point has gone.

We are neither preparing for nor doing anything to avert the imminent meltdown of the Ganges glacier which will deprive 400 million people of drinking and irrigation water. We are not developing the expertise to replace polluting industries that foul up our air and water or even remove their remains that like large gravestones continue to litter our countryside even after they go bust. Environmental protection continues to be misunderstood as a roadblock in the face of “development“ rather than the necessary foundation for all planning. No one is preparing the youth for a world on the brink. We are turning out millions of young people who may technically be ‘educated’ but are functionally incapable.

The same lack of training spills over into politics. We have a generation of politicians and bureaucrats who managed the old India and continue to offer the same stale and standard non-solutions. For Drought – construct canals and tube wells; For food scarcity– use more fertilizer and pesticides . For an aggressive China – be conciliatory. For Pakistani terrorism in Kashmir – petition the UN or US for more toothless resolutions. Our so –called new politicos are simply the children of old politicos continuing with business as usual.

What we have to understand is that no piecemeal change is going to be able to deal with the threats facing our development, the inequalities in our society and the environmental disaster we are already in the middle of. We need to address the fundamentals.

Health is a priority goal in its own right, as well as a central input into economic development and poverty reduction. Health and socio-economic development are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to achieve one without the other. While economic development in India has been gaining momentum over the last decade, our health system still ranks a lowly 118 among 191 WHO member countries on overall performance. We have clearly not recognized that health cannot be measured by swanky medical hotels for the rich but how we provide for the poor.

But sometimes sensible simple solutions will do. In villages, a lot of people who claim blindness turn out to be just in need of spectacles. Primary health centres have no specialists so villagers have no access to eye tests and glasses. One NGO, Development Alternatives has started training teams of village youth, equipping them with eye testing kits and selling them glasses which they sell further for between Rs 50-100. Imagine this being the price between light and darkness.

In the sixties, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences , Delhi was set up as , a centre of excellence and the motherboard of all medical research in India . Has any research come out of it in the last so many years. No, because the Centre’s 400 doctors have to cope with over 25,000 patients a day. What is the government’s answer? : make 5 more of the same except that in the last ten years it has not started on even one.

The 25,000 patients that daily besiege AIIMS come from all over India – I know because I send at least 100 people a week from my own constituency because rural areas have no functional health facilities. Again the debate centres around bricks and mortar – we build these many primary health centres but we neither equip them adequately nor are we able to staff them so we end up establishing empty rooms across the countryside. There is no provision for medical emergencies, and thousands of Indians die of perfectly curable medical conditions. The single hospital in my constituency has its medicines sold outside and its doctors practice only after hours. I can’t say I blame them. The sheer number of people who pour in all day since they lack even the money to pay for an aspirin, can destroy the spirit of even the most dedicated doctor.

Nor do our priorities seem right. Every day 1100 Indians die of malaria yet our health efforts are preoccupied by international scares like SARs and avian flue and swine flu that peter off into nothing while our endemic diseases get more dangerous and deadly.

One of the most important challenges in health reform is to design workable systems for rural idea. Given the discrepancy in earnings between private and public medical practitioners, how do we deliver competent healthcare in villages? Primary health centres in West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar cope with less than 20% of the allocated staff. One way might be to strengthen local systems of medicine like ayurveda and homeopathy. Gujarat has tackled the problem through improved connectivity creating an ambulance service that responds within half an hour to take villagers to medical help. What I would like to see is a programme of health education targeted at women designed to prevent diseases like malaria, TB and diabetes , that are needlessly killing us.

We need Indians from all over the world to pitch in with help and ideas. Foremost would be to design a rural insurance system. In the absence of good district hospitals – and the inability of most patients to pay– we need something to fill the gap. We cannot ignore the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick. We cannot compel those without insurance, to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

I have heard of a charitable trust in Karnataka run by Dr Devi Shetty which has introduced the concept of health micro-insurance which gives a poor person the ability to get even a modern heart operation costing Rs 60,000. Here is something that can and must be replicated across the country. Health is the key to wealth. Only a healthy nation can be a prosperous and progressive one. Having the security of reliable healthcare allows a society to civilize, specialize and produce Michelangelos and Einsteins. That we see so few new ideas in India is not because we are incapable of them, it is because we simply do not have the time to generate them.

With everyone caught up in the everyday struggle of simply staying alive, where is the time to innovate? If we can provide the security of accessible and affordable healthcare, we can find ways to do things differently and better.

What we must have is a clear understanding that consumption and more consumption is not the way forward. Every month 30,000 people migrate to Delhi alone which already has a shortage of 23 million homes. 60% of the city lives in substandard housing with one room for a whole family without even a separate cooking space. If we want India to remain in her villages, those villages will have to be turned into oases of hope from the deserts of despair that persons long to leave. Already there is evidence of the miracles that can come out of our villages.

An IIM Professor, Dr Anil Gupta, has instituted a search for innovations by villagers and every year awards and markets the best ones. One of these is a cycle –operated washing machine invented by a 14 year old girl who was frustrated by the fact that family chores never left her any time to study. Now she can read her books while pedalling this machine that washes the clothes. Brilliant! From Bihar has come a cycle whose pedals turn into paddles so that it can be used even during floods.

Having a predominantly young population can create conducive conditions but is not by itself sufficient for change. Nor does being young necessarily equip anyone with fresh solutions to old problems. That only comes through education and health reform. I know that IACF shares these concerns and I urge that any meaningful contribution to India should be in these two areas.

You live outside our country. You can see its problems and achievements from a different perspective. You may feel perplexed by our convoluted politics and increasing corruption. But you also understand that corruption increases when resources and ideas diminish. That’s why we need a system that allows both resources and ideas to be freely and commonly shared. This is what I term altruism.

I am a young person in politics, the youngest person in Parliament today and my dreams are of sharing. I dream of an inclusive world that allows the poorest and most overlooked to participate in progress. That, I believe, is true democracy.

India has always had the ability to surprise. We triumphed over oppression not with guns but with roses, inventing non-violence as a practical political tool. Today when the Western consumption driven model has failed, it is once again time for India to show global leadership.

I would like to propose that Altruism be adopted as this century’s central guiding economic policy. We know that unchecked pollution anywhere in the world, affects it everywhere. What is needed therefore is technological and idea transfers that are free to countries that cannot afford to pay for them. The sink or swim together moment is upon us.

I ask of you too to share this spirit of altruism and to help spread it as the new ism of our age. It will translate into smaller government and more private enterprise – both in education , healthcare and infrastructure development. It will transform into social activism and charity leading us to venture where govt can’t or won’t go.

It will shift the emphasis from simply making money and calculating meaningless statistics to an awareness of what India needs to survive and transform into a truly great nation. Years ago when America faced a national crisis, FDR’s New Deal also called for a spirit of sharing. In India the govt’s flagship scheme NREGA is based on the same principle. In theory its guarantee of a minimum amount of employment to rural India is excellent but look at what is happening on ground. One, the usual middlemen are pocketing a huge percentage of the labourer’s daily pay and two, no administration has bothered to find out how to use this compulsory labour so all you have is crores of people digging holes in the ground and then later filling up those same holes to justify the wage they are getting. All it needs is for someone, anyone, to identify things that do need to be accomplished whether it is cleaning or building or planting trees instead of so foolishly wasting time, effort and money.

Since most govt schemes are similarly mired in corruption and sloth, what we need is more private involvement in nation building. The more our individual initiatives, the stronger we become as a people. The stronger we are as a people the less we need to rely on lazy, inefficient and ill educated administrations.

Let me give you a small example of medical altruism from Punjab. 30 years ago, Punjab had a disproportionately high mortality rate of women during childbirth. One person who studied problem discovered the cause to be the unhygienic instruments being used to cut the umbilical cord. Instead of waiting around for the Govt to do something he simply positioned people outside all maternity clinics selling sterilized razor blades for Re 1. Mortality rates fell immediately.

Here is an example of economic and environmental altruism again from Punjab. In Fazilka, a group of young IIT graduates have started an eco-cab service by organising cycle rickshaws into stands from where they can be summoned by telephone, benefitting the community, the puller and the environment. It is instances like these by which we should measure progress. In fact the best way to tell the health of an economy is not by its billionaires but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, Last month’s newspapers announced that leading IT and telecom companies were setting up a programme to sponsor the coaching of young people in villages to enable them to get into technical colleges and become the engineers and computer analysts of tomorrow. If social organizations were to see themselves as companies and similarly set CSR targets and responsibilities, perhaps you could take up the training and creation of an employable, skilled youth force. From this force could emerge both responsible plumbers and policy makers.

What will do it is only a strong dose of self- respect and national pride. We need to understand that it is not just our house or office that belongs to us but our colony, our city and our entire country, when we internalise this sense of ownership that’s when things will change. After WWII the Japanese judiciously repaired not their shattered buildings but their national pride. Everything else followed to turn them into the economic giant that they remain.

Another useful example from Japan is its method of protest – unlike in India where we burn buses and destroy public property little realising that it is our own property and our own interests we are injuring, Japanese protesters simply work harder at their jobs as a way to shame the authorities into accepting their demand. And believe me , it works.

I was brought up to believe that you are more than your job, you are what you know and what you do beyond your work. Conversations at family mealtimes invariably centre around ways to contribute or give back to society. 35 years ago, my father’s 5 point programme included ‘Each one Teach one.’ Today I am delighted to see that concept being propounded by the country’s leading newspaper.

Another pet family project has been environmental protection which I personally believe to be of paramount concern for the youth who are going to increasingly face the consequences of climate change. As an agricultural country, we are particularly vulnerable. Yet it is India that is blocking Climate Change negotiations demanding that we (with over one billion people) must first be allowed to achieve the levels of consumerism of the West before we can be asked to reform. The question to be asked is what’s the use of a fancy house or hotel when you don’t have a planet left to put it?

I worry about the future of India. The rich grow increasingly selfish thinking in terms of the ‘republic of one’ with private security, generators, tubewells and cars. They have no expectations from the State and no sense of community. The poor on the other hand, have nothing to lose but their chains. There is growing unrest and violence. If every Indian is not a stakeholder in progress, we face a bloody future.

Young India is hungry, hungry for solutions. We want to know why the few who mismanage the system should continue to blight the future of a billion people. We want answers not excuses. And we want them now.

We cannot wait for reform for one more year, one more election, one more generation. Why should we wait for riots over food, water and power, for Naxal violence to engulf India, for total environmental collapse? We’re not here to fear the future. We’re here to change it.

We the young people of this country—those who will guide its destiny in the future—have a special interest in maintaining the national honor We cannot stand on the outside and complain about the system, we have to work from within to change it. At present of a graduating class, the brightest go to IITs, IIMs and medical schools to become professionals, the next brightest go to business schools to become entrepreneurs, the third level enters government services and finally it is the remainder that get into politics. So how does this translate into real life. The bottom of the class makes the rules. The slightly brighter ones implements them over those more intelligent and the brightest end up being governed by those far less able than themselves. It is time to turn that equation the right side up. And to do so, its important to develop and create a positive attitude towards politics so that more educated and honorable young people are encouraged to join the process and make a difference.

I have been brought up on examples of how people selflessly served the nation, they would have two pots of ink on their desk one for official letters, one for personal ones. As a young Indian today, I have faith that we shall not prove false to the memories of our forefathers. They did their work and won us the freedom we now enjoy. We in turn must be sure to leave this heritage enhanced and
enlarged to our children and our children’s children.

I have brought to you my message of hope and change. I know it will find resonance. You may not live in India, but it is your country as much as mine. Let us join our collective strengths to build the India of our dreams. Together we cannot fail. Jai Hind.

The Historic Contributions of Islam

Can anyone name a single invention by a Middle Eastern Muslim in the last 500 years?

Quite a few Middle Eastern inventions can be found throughout “early” history (BC through about the 1300′s). Since then however, I would have a tough time trying to name a single invention, or even a single contribution to society at large by Muslims. Unless you count the school bus bomb as a thoughtful gift to the world, there’s really NOTHING that these folks have contributed for over 500 years.

I happen to have serious doubts about the Muslim attributions of many early inventions as well, but that is a topic for another essay.

My point is that Islam has stifled a culture, benighted a large region of the world, and quelled an entire people into a rerun of the dark ages. It has done this by successfully smothering freedom, repressing new thoughts and ideas and quelling all individuality. It has effectively prevented a large portion of the world from seeing any forward progress for over half a millennium.

This is reminiscent of the way in which the Catholic faith inhibited science during its early years. Rome has smartened up to a great extent. While the Vatican may not be overly welcoming to the scientific community, its days of burning heretics are long gone. As an example of their modernity, Catholicism is in full agreement with the ‘Big Bang” theory (the pope blessed this concept back in the late 1980′s). The Vatican does have its disagreements with the methods employed by some to make progress (stem cell research anyone?), but they no longer seem to shun the progress itself.

This religious acceptance of (or at least tolerance of) progress is definitely not the case with Islam. Islam is actively trying to burn, blow up, shoot, torture, maim and destroy “heretics” and “infidels” in 27 countries worldwide. It sees almost all progress, whether social or scientific, as evil. Islam is (by far) the least tolerant and least progressive religion in the world today. The entire rest of the world can plainly see the results.

I’ve asked quite a few Arab Muslims about this major discrepancy in progress, and the answer is always the same: “America, Israel, blah blah blah”!!

It never seems to occur to them that this can only account for the last 50 years or so. What happened to the other 450? I say, “ISLAM HAPPENED”.

A Diatribe on Modern Islam

American citizens and soldiers worldwide have been slain one by one or in groups, for decades. This was done in the name of Allah… and most Muslims were silent… except for those who celebrated.

How many embassies, ships, buses, planes, schools and businesses have been bombed in the name of Allah in the last fifty years? … And most Muslims were silent… except for those who celebrated.

The twin towers fell and thousands died… and most Muslims remained silent. Sure, a few spoke out, claiming that Islam does not condone such things… but they were drowned out by the cheers, parades and celebrations that erupted throughout the Muslim world.

In 27 countries throughout the world, Muslims are engaged in Jihad, or “holy war”. In this supposed “holy war”, non-believers are butchered by the millions… and this is supposed to be the will of Allah?

I’m sick and tired of the politically correct proposition that a few “bad apples” are trying to hijack Islam, and that Muslims are somehow peaceful. A few Muslim clerics meekly claiming that these acts are wrong are nothing when compared to the celebrations, or the deafening silence of many others when it comes to the horrific actions done in the name of Allah.

Nazism was started as a political party, but was hijacked by a ruthless dictator. There may have been some nice “Nazi’s” who stood quiet while terrible acts were committed in their name. As a result, calling oneself a Nazi today would announce ones compliance and indeed ones agreement with all of the atrocities committed by Nazism.

It therefore stands to reason that anyone who calls themselves a Muslim is announcing their concurrence and complicity with the millions of atrocities being committed in the name of Islam. They are saying, “I am an enemy of peace.” To most people, it is now a plain fact… there are NO PEACEFUL MUSLIMS.

Muslims should consider themselves lucky that we Americans ARE peaceful. Otherwise, we would have nuked you fuckers to cinders a long time ago. The rest of the world (the SANE people) really don’t need Muslims around. Islam has contributed nothing but mayhem and misery to the history of mankind.After studying 1400 years of Islamic History , Quranic Translation , Hadis , Sharia , Life of Mohammad , Curriculum of Pakistani Madrassas , Speeches of Muslim Clerics , Recent booklets by Al Qaida ………… I came to the conclusion that Free World is facing a vicious and dangerous enemy called Islam . Where ever Islam is in minority , They multiply to win demographically , As soon as they are in significant numbers , they launch a Jehad against the fellow countrymen who are non muslims.When they have command or power , they will show their true colours , They will massacre Non Muslims like anything. They have no feelings for Non Muslims , as according to Quran all Non Muslims are infidels or sinners and deserved to be murdered or forcefully converted to Islam.

Islam wiped out complete civilisation in Egypt.

Islam wiped out Parsees from Persia ( Iran ) .

Islam has wiped out Buddhists from Afghanistan

Islam has wiped out Sikhs from Lahore

Islam has wiped out Sindhis from Sindh

Islam has wiped out kashmiri pandits from kashmir

Islam is engaged in ethnic cleansing of Hindus & Buddhists in Bangladesh.

Islam is attacking and murdering Jews in Israel

Islam has wiped out Christians from Lebanon in long civil War.

Islam is planning to wipe out Chinese , Tamils , Christians , Sikhs from Malaysia.

Islam is wiping Russians from Chechnya and Ingushetia

Islam has wiped Christians from several Islands of Indonesia

Islam is systematically wiping out Christians from Nigeria , Kenya , Somalia , etc.

Islam has wiped over one million Africans in Darfur , Sudan.

Islam is preparing for a Full scale Civil War in India to wipe out all Non Muslims ( Hindus, Christians , Jews , Parsees , Bahais, Sikhs , Jains , Buddhists , Sanatanis , Naamdharis , Chakmas , Catholics ,………..).

Muslims are growing their numbers by increasing their populations , They practice polygamy , have dozens of children , lure / convert NonMuslim women , Infiltration from Pakistan and Bangladesh ……….There are 250 Million Muslims in India now with their numbers growing.

They are united , determined and Motivated by Islamic Clerics. There are regular mini Intifadas in various muslims majority areas in India ………and day by day they are showing their Militant Islamic Colours as their numbers grow.

West must support India inits struggle against Islamists , otherwise India is becoming stronghold of Militant Muslims day by day ! They are accumulating weapons , bombs , explosives , daggers , guns , etc to prepare for civil war in India .

India & Israel , Both share lot of things in common and are real allies of West.

US and Europe should support the building of Military Alliance between India and Israel. That will be in favour of Western Interests in Asia in particular and World in general.

Israel has technological and Will power to Fight Islamists.

India has man power ( over 1 billion people ) and Brain Power ( IT Professionals , Doctors , Scientists,etc).

We are in World War III . Its Islam versus the West .

Infact its Islam versus the rest.

Israel & India will be an asset to West in its war against Islam.

Muslims have become the worldwide enemy of peace, and therefore I proudly say… F*** the Muslims, and F*** ALLAH…..

Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?

Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.

The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth.

Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.

Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people. The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments.

Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews. Is this a lie?

A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Those plans are signed by Hitler’s deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself. Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered. Is this too a lie?

This June, President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp. Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie? And what of the Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie?

One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration. Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own. My wife’s grandparents, her father’s two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis. Is that also a lie?

Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries.

But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame? Have you no decency? A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state. What a disgrace! What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations!

Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews. You’re wrong. History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others.

This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries.

In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims. It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others. Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times. Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated.

The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization. It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death. The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century. The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day.

Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope. The pace of progress is growing exponentially. It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet.

What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code. We will cure the incurable. We will lengthen our lives. We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.

I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances – by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment. These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise.

But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time. And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after a horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind.

That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction, and the most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom?

Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world’s most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism? Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?

The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime. People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall. Will the United Nations stand by their side?

Ladies and Gentlemen, the jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging. Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims. That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.

For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks.

We heard nothing – absolutely nothing – from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one. In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza. It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis. We didn’t get peace. Instead we got an Iranian backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv. Life in Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare.

You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent. Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault, Israel was finally forced to respond. But how should we have responded? Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country’s civilian population. It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II.

During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties. Israel chose to respond differently. Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians – Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.

That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances. Israel, by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas. We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave.

Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy’s civilian population from harm’s way. Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn? Israel. A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot.

By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals. What a perversion of truth! What a perversion of justice!

Delegates of the United Nations, will you accept this farce? Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the earth is flat.

If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity. And in condemning Israel, this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace. Here’s why. When Israel left Gaza, many hoped that the missile attacks would stop. Others believed that at the very least, Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense.

What legitimacy? What self-defense?

The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us -my people, my country – of war crimes? And for what? For acting responsibly in self-defense. What a travesty!

Israel justly defended itself against terror. This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists? We must know the answer to that question now. Now and not later. Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.

Ladies and Gentlemen, all of Israel wants peace. Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace. We made peace with Egypt led by Anwar Sadat. We made peace with Jordan led by King Hussein. And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of Israel, will make peace. But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace.

In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples – a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted that resolution. The Arabs rejected it. We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years: Say yes to a Jewish state.

Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people. The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of Israel. This is the land of our forefathers.

Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. They shall learn war no more.” These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city – in the hills of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem. We are not strangers to this land. It is our homeland.

As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own. We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity. But we must have security. The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel.

That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized. We don’t want another Gaza, another Iranian backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.

We want peace.

I believe such a peace can be achieved. But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran, that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order. The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.

Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the “confirmed unteachability of mankind,” the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them.

Churchill bemoaned what he called the “want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong.”

I speak here today in the hope that Churchill’s assessment of the “unteachability of mankind” is for once proven wrong. I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history — that we can prevent danger in time.

In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage. Let us confront this peril, secure our future and, God willing, and forge an enduring peace for generations to come.

Thank you very much.

The Real Akbar, The (not) So Great

ABSTRACT

Akbar is considered as the great Mughal emperor who put the Mughal empire on a firm and stable footing, with a reliable revenue system and with expansion of its borders deeper into Indian heartland. There is a belief prevalent in the present day India that Akbar’s rule was secular and tolerant of the native Hindu faith. This belief is fostered by the Indian history texts, Hindi movies like Mughal-e-Azam, a TV serial on Doordarshan and the fictional tales of Akbar and his Hindu court jester Birbal. Although Akbar did abolish two obnoxious taxes on Hindus namely the pilgrimage tax in 1563 CE and Jizya (A tax stipulated in the Koran to be paid by Zimmis or unbelievers) in 1564 CE, his rule was better compared ONLY to the other Mughal and Turko-Afgani rules. This article illustrates this with two specific historical events. First, Akbar like all Mughal rulers had the holy Muslim title of GHAZI (SLAYER OF KAFFIR – infidel). Like Timur Lane and Nader Shah, AKBAR HAD A VICTORY TOWER ERECTED WITH THE HEADS OF THE CAPTURED/ SURRENDERED ARMY OF HEMU after the second battle of Panipat. Later, AKBAR AGAIN SLAUGHTERED MORE THAN 30,000 UNARMED CAPTIVE HINDU PEASANTS AFTER THE FALL OF CHITOD ON FEBRUARY 24, 1568.

This article also relates another historical event which shows the true dubious nature of Akbar’s religious beliefs which he used merely to suit his convenience.

10 REFERENCES, The Cambridge History of India, Encyclopedia Britannica and other works based on Akbar-nama by Abul Fazl.

THE MUGHAL ANCESTRY

Akbar’s grandfather Babar founded the Mughal dynasty. Babar was a direct descendent of Timur Lane from his father’s Barlas Turk side and of Chengiz Khan the Mongol from his mother’s side. The name Mongol had become synonymous with barbarian by the 16 th century CE, hence Babar was proud of his ancestry from Timur, whose descendents were regarded as ‘cultured Turks’. In a twist of poetic justice, the dynasty founded by Babar became known through out the world as Mughal – an adaptation of Mughul, the Persian word for ‘Mongol’(1). In Marathi also Mughals are referred to as ‘Mongal’ which is close to Mongol.

Babar’s son Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Sur, an Afgan at the battle of Chausa on 26 June 1539. But Humayun later defeated Sikandar Shah Sur in 1555 to regain Delhi.

SECOND BATTLE OF PANIPAT AND HOW AKBAR BECAME GHAZI

On 24 th January 1556 CE Mughal ruler Humayun slipped while climbing down the steps of his library and fell to his death. The heir to the Mughal throne, 13 year old Akbar was then campaigning in Punjab with his chief minister Bairam Khan. On February 14, 1556, in a garden at Kalanaur, Akbar was enthroned as emperor. The other rivals for the throne of Delhi were the three Afgan princes of Sher Shah. However the main threat to Akbar’s future came not from the Afgan princes but from a Hindu. Hemu, the Hindu chief minister of Afgan prince Adil Shah led a surprise attack on Delhi in October 1556 . The Mughal forces under its governor Tardi Beg Khan panicked and went into a sudden ignominious flight. This was Hemu’s twenty second consecutive victory in successive battles. After the capture of Delhi, Hemu set up himself as an independent ruler under the Hindu title of ‘Raja Vikramaditya’. At this juncture against the advice of most nobles, Akbar and Bairam Khan took a courageous decision, to press forward against Hemu’s undoubtedly superior forces. On November 5, 1556 the Mughul forces met the army of Hemu at Panipat.

In this second battle of Panipat, the Mughals were saved by a lucky accident after a hard fight which looked more than likely to go against them. An arrow hit Hemu in the eye and although it did not kill him it had pierced the cerebral cavity enough to make him unconscious. In any battle of this period the death of the leader meant an end of the fight, and the sight of Hemu slumped in the howdah of his famous elephant Hawai was enough to make his army turn tail. Shah Quli Khan captured the Hawai elephant with its prize occupant, and took it directly to Akbar. Hemu was brought unconscious before Akbar and Bairam. Bairam pleaded Akbar to perform the holy duty of slaying the infidel and earn the Islamic holy title of ‘Ghazi’. Among much self-congratulation AKBAR THEN SEVERED THE HEAD OF UNCONSCIOUS HEMU WITH HIS SABER (2,3,4). Some historians claim that Akbar did not kill Hemu himself, but just touched the infidel’s head with his sword and his associates finished the gory ‘holy’ work. However the latter version seems inconsistent with the events that followed. After the battle Hemu’s head was sent to kabul as a sign of victory to the ladies of Humayun’s harem, and Hemu’s torso was sent to Delhi for exposure on a gibbet. Iskandar Khan chased the Hemu’s fleeing army and captured 1500 elephants and a large contingent. THERE WAS A GREAT SLAUGHTER OF THOSE WHO WERE CAPTURED and IN KEEPING WITH THE CUSTOM OF HIS ANCESTORS TIMUR LANE AND CHENGIZ KHAN, AKBAR HAD A VICTORY PILLAR BUILT WITH THEIR HEADS. Peter Mundy, an Englishman travelling Mughal empire some 75 years later (during Jahangir and Shah Jahan’s rein), found such towers were still being built. (Reference 2 gives pictures of a sketch by Peter Mundy, and Mughal painting of the tower of heads during Akbar’s reign). Hemu’s wife escaped from Delhi with the treasure and Pir Mohammad Khan’s troops chased her caravan without success. HEMU’S AGED FATHER WAS CAPTURED AND ON REFUSING TO ACCEPT ISLAM, WAS EXECUTED (3). This is the ‘glorious’ history of Akbar’s victory at the battle of Panipat.

FALL OF CHITOD AND SLAUGHTER OF 30,000 CAPTIVE HINDU PEASANTS

Despite nearly five centuries of Muslim occupation of India, Rajasthan in 1567 CE was still almost entirely Hindu. Akbar infiltrated the area by marrying into Rajasthan’s ruling houses and by steadily capturing various forts on the eastern fringe of Rajputana. But the senior house of Rajasthan, Rana of Mewar proudly refused any alliance with Mughals. Akbar’s army started a campaign for Chitod in 1567. Rana of Mewar, Uday Singh left his capital, the great fort of Chitod to be defended by 8,000 Rajputs under an excellent commander, Jai Mal, and took himself and his family to the safety of the hills. Akbar arrived on October 24, 1567 and laid a siege of Chitod. Akbar’s huge army’s camp stretched for almost ten miles . Akbar planned two methods of assault -mining and building a ‘sabat’, a structure which provides the invading army a cover of a high wall as it progresses ‘infinitely slowly’ towards the fort wall and tightens the noose around the fort. The mining proved disastrous since an explosion of a mistimed second mine claimed Akbar’s nearly 200 men including some leading nobles. As the noose of ‘sabat’ tightened, Akbar forces lost nearly 200 men a day to musket fire from the fort. Almost four months after the siege, on February 23, 1567, a musket shot fired from the Mughal army killed Jai Mal. Some chroniclers claim that this shot was fired by Akbar himself. With the death of their leader Jai Mal, the Rajputs for a while lost heart. That night flames leapt to the sky as THOUSANDS OF RAJPUT WOMEN PERFORMED JAUHAR (act of self-immolation, the term is a corruption of Jay Har – meaning Hail Shiva). They preferred jumping into a roaring fire, to being captured by Mughal Akbar. Later events do lend credit to their astute judgement. This was the THIRD JAUHAR IN THE HISTORY OF CHITOD.

Next day the Rajputs under a new young leader Patta Singh donned on the saffron robes – Kesariya, in preparation for a fight to death, flung open the gates of the fort and charged on to the Mughal army. Patta Singh, his mother and his wife duly died in the ensuing battle as did many Rajput warriors. Later, the victorious Mughal army entered the fort of Chitod. At the time there were 40,000 Hindu peasants and artisans residing on the fort besides the Rajput army. AKBAR THEN ORDERED A MASSACRE OF ALL THE CAPTURED UNARMED 40,000 HINDUS, some artisans indeed were spared and taken away but THE SLAIN AMOUNTED TO AT LEAST 30,000 (5,6,7,8,9) Akbar was particularly keen to avenge himself on the thousand musketeers who had done much damage to his troops, but they escaped by the boldest of the tricks. Binding their own women and children, and shoving them roughly along like new captives, the Rajput musketeers successfully passed themselves off as a detachment of the victorious Mughals and so made their way out of the fort (5,6,7,8,9).

The MASSACRE OF 30,000 CAPTIVE HINDUS AT CHITOD BY AKBAR has left an indelible blot on his name. No such horrors were perpetrated by even the brutal Ala-ud-din Khilji who had captured the fort in 1303 CE. Abul Fazl, Akbar’s court chronicler is at pains in trying to justify this slaughter. In the later period of his rule, Akbar later had statues of Patta and Jai Mal, riding on elephants, installed at the gate of his imperial palace at Agra. Although probably intended as a compliment for their heroism, it was open to misconstruction since in the earlier history Jai Chand had placed a similar statue of Prithvi Raj Chauhan at the gate of his palace (as a Dwarpal) at the Swayamvar of his daughter Sanyogita.

Sir Thomas Roe, an Englishman who visited Chitod some fifty years later, found the fort deserted. In fact, it remained a firm tenet of Mughal policy throughout the next century that fortifications of Chitod, which till then was the capital of the then strongest Hindu Rana, should remain unrepaired, perhaps as a lesson to Hindus who dared to take on the Mughals (5).

Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar, son of Rana Uday Singh, kept the Rajput resistance to Akbar alive and tried to reclaim the glory of Chitod.

AKBAR AND RELIGION

In the later part of his rule Akbar founded a new religion Din-e-Ilahi in which he vaguely tried to combine practices of Islam and Hinduism. He observed Muslim, Hindu and Parsee festivals. He had Jesuit priests in his courts. However, this founder of Din-e-Ilahi was practically illiterate. Till the end of his rule only seventeen nobles yielded to Akbar’s wishes (and pressure) and converted to his new religion, among whom Raja Birbal was one. None of Akbar’s children adopted his religion. To top it all, Jahangir, Akbar’s son from his Hindu wife Jodhabai, later killed a Kaffir (Hindu infidel) and gained the holy Islamic title of Ghazi. It is indeed true that Akbar drifted from orthodox Islamic practices and became more tolerant of other religions. However, more often Akbar used and twisted religious principles to his own advantage. Let us look at one such example.

Akbar used marriage alliances with various royal houses as a way of expanding his empire. The political advantages of this steady stream of presentation of princesses were incalculable. In the end Akbar had more than 300 wives. The actual number of women in the harem was nearer to 5,000. Many of these were older women, but there were also young servant girls, or Amazons of Russia or Abyssinia as armed guards, all with the status only of slaves. It was these who, if so required, were the emperor’s concubines. The three hundred were technically wives, even though the Koran limits the number to four. Akbar wanted religious sanction of all these 300 wives. Now as per the Persian Shia interpretation of Muslim scriptures (and also by the present day ‘Mohammedan Act of India’! ) a Muslim can have a ‘Mutta’ marriage with a free women of OTHER religion. A ‘Mutta’ marraige involves no ceremony , but is a private pact between a man and a woman for, officially, ‘a limited period time (as short as one night)’ agreed between them. As per Shia interpretation, ‘Mutta’ constituted a legal Muslim marriage. Akbar used ‘Mutta’ principle to justify his300 wives. But the Sunni Ulemma (Islamic scholars) from his courtdisagreed. The The arguments between Akbar and Ulemma raged back andforth, until -completing the parallel with Henry VIII- Akbar dismissed the Kazi, the highest religious officer from his court, aSunni, and replaced him with a Shia who did agree with him! (10)

Later, Akbar had effrontery to decree that ‘it was best for ordinary men to to have only one wife’! (10)

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Akbar killed an unconscious Hemu (a Hindu) to become a ‘Ghazi’ at the second battle of Panipat, he later ordered slaughter of all the captives from Hemu’s army and had a victory tower built with their heads. Similarly, Akbar later on ordered a massacre of 30,000 plus unarmed captive Hindu peasants after the fall of Chitod on February 24, 1568. Are these the characteristics of a truly ‘secular’ and ‘tolerant’ emperor ? These events reveal Akbar’s true nature during early part of his reign. Should Akbar be called ‘Great’ and ‘Secular’ only because he was a lesser despot than the rest of the Mughal emperors ? In the entire Indian history of thousands of years NOT A SINGLE HINDU KING EVER SLAUGHTERED THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS OF WAR. In fact the Hindu virtue of generosity to the surrendered (SharaNaagat Vatsal Bhav), came to haunt them later. Prithvi Raj Chauhan defeated Mohammed Ghori several times and generously let the loser free each time. This generosity of Pritviraj was paid back by Mohammed Ghori who after having finally defeated Prithvi Raj in 1193 CE, blinded him and carried him to Afganistan in chains where Prithvi Raj died an ignominious death. The Mughals were the descendents of brutal Mongol Chengiz Khan and the Turk Timur Lane. The above incidences clearly show that MUGHAL EMPERORS WERE FOREIGN AND NOT INDIAN, AND AKBAR BY HIS ACTIONS WAS NO EXCEPTION. Thus to call Akbar as ‘The Great’ is nothing but an insult to all civilized societies. This article also has shown Akbar’s dubious use of religious principles.

If we are to take example from the 20 th century, then even the Nazis did not kill 30,000 prisoners of war in cold blood during the second World War. However scores of Nazis were sentenced to death during the Nuremburg trials for their War Crimes against POWs.

Readers are encouraged to read more about the true brutality of Mughal empire.

The readers should ponder upon following questions:

If Akbar ‘the epitome of secularism’ was so cruel and brutal, what must have been the extent of brutality of Timur Lane, Babar, Aurangzeb and Nader Shah?

Why don’t the Indian School texts give these details of Akbar and What else are they hiding?

REFERENCES

The Great Moghuls, By B.Gascoigne, Harper Row Publishers, New York, 1972, p.15
Same as ref. 1, pp. 68-75
The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV, Mughal India, ed. Lt. Col. Sir W.Haig, Sir R.Burn, S,Chand & Co., Delhi, 1963, pp. 71-73
The Builders of The Mogul Empire, By M.Prawdin, Barnes & Noble Inc, New York, 1965, pp. 127-28
Same as ref. 1, pp. 88-93
Same as ref. 3. pp. 97-99
Same as ref. 4, pp. 137-38
An Advanced History of India, by R.C.Majumdar, H.C.Raychoudhury, K.Datta, MacMillen & Co., London, 2nd Ed, 1965, pp. 448-450
Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.21, 1967, p.65

Akbar, The Great A Tyrannical Monarch

Introduction History of India has witnessed innumerable invasions by hoards of armed marauders coming in from the west, perhaps attracted to the riches and wealth India then possessed. Apart from looting of wealth and destruction of property, the ‘aliens’ who remained, who committed grave atrocities against the local populace, and themselves, wallowing in immoral and unethical behaviour; except for one, it is said, Akbar. Akbar, the third generation Moghal emperor who lived from 1542-1605 A.D, has been extolled as the greatest of all Moghals, righteous in deed and noble in character. He is praised to be the only and truly secular Emperor of the times, very caring and protective of his subjects. However, assessment and analysis of contemporary notings expose this unjustified edification of Akbar and provides a remarkably different picture of Akbar’s personality. The following is not a comprehensive report on Akbar’s reign, but an attempt to provide a summary to the reader, on the real nature of Akbar based on contemporary records. It is hoped that the reader will make a judgement on Akbar’s “greatness” based on the information provided below. Akbar’s Ancestors Akbar’s ancestors were barbarous and vicious, and so were his descendants like Aurangzeb and others’ down the line. Akbar was born and brought up in a illiterate and foul atmosphere characterized by excessive drinking, womanizing and drug addiction. Vincent Smith in “Akbar – The Great Mogul” (p.294) writes, ” Intemperance was the besetting sin of the Timuroid royal family, as it was of many other muslim ruling houses. Babur (was) an elegant toper … Humayun made himself stupid with opium … Akbar permitted himself the practices of both vices .. Akbar’s two sons died in early manhood from chronic alcoholism, and their elder brother was saved from the same fate by a strong constitution, and not by virtue.” With such an atmosphere to nourish Akbar’s thoughts, it is rather unsual for Akbar to become “divine incarnate”! Describing the demoniac pleasure which Babur used to derive by raising towers of heads of people he used to slaughter, Col. Tod writes that after defeating Rana Sanga at Fatehpur Sikri “triumphal pyriamids were raised of the heads of the slain, and on a hillock which overlooked the field of the battle, a tower of skulls was erected and the conquerer Babur assumed the title of Ghazi.” (p.246). Akbar seems to have preserved this “great” legacy of erecting minarets as is obvious from the accounts of battles he fought. Humayun, the son of Babar, was even more degenerate and cruel than his father. After repeated battles, Humayum captured his elder brother Kamran and subjected the latter to brutal torture. A detailed account is left by Humayun’s servant Jauhar and is quoted by Smith (p.20), which says, ” .. (Humayun) had little concerns for his brother’s sufferings .. One of the men was sitting on Kamran’s knees. He was pulled out of the tent and a lancet was thrust into his eyes .. Some lemon juice and salt was put into his eyes .. After sometime he was put on horseback.” One can imagine the cruelty and torture that Humayun was capable of inflicting on others when he subjected to his own brother to such atrocities. Humayun was also a slave to opium habit, engaged in excessive alcohol consumption and a lecherous degenarate when it came to women (Shelat, p.27). He is also known to have married a 14 year old Hamida Begum by force. The cruelties perpetrated by of Akbar’s descendants (Jehangir, Shahjahan, Aurangzeb, etc.) are not entirely different from those of his ancestors. Having brought up in the company and under the guidance of a lineage of drug addicts, drunkards and sadists, it is rather anamalous that Akbar held such a gentle and noble character. Even assuming that he fancied nobility, it is amazing that Akbar let his comtemporaries and Generals, like Peer Mohammad, loot and rape the helpless citizenry that he was ruling! It would however be interesting to observe the incidents in Akbar’s reign and evaluate his character. Akbar’s (Immoral) Character and Nature Akbar possessed a inordinate lust for women, just like his ancestors and predecessors. One of Akbar’s motives during his wars of aggression against various rulers was to appropriate their women, daughters and sisters. The Rajput women of Chittor prefered “Jauhar” (immolation) than to be captured and disrespectfully treated as servants and prostitutes in Akbar’s harem. On his licentous relations with women, Smith refers to a contemporary Jesuits testimony (p.81) thus, “… Akbar habitually drank hard. The good father had boldly dared to reprove the emperor sharply for his licentous relations with women. Akbar instead of resenting the priests audacity, blushingly excused himself.” Both drinking and enganging in debauched sexual activities was inherited by Akbar from his ancestors. Abul Fazl in Ain-i-Akbari (Blochmann,V.1,p.276), “.. His majesty has established a wine shop near the palace … The prostitues of the realm collected at the shop could scarcely be counter, so large was their number .. The dancing girls used to be taken home by the courtiers. If any well known courtier wanted to have a virgin they should first have His Majesty’s [Akbar's] permission. In the same way, boys prostituted themselves, and drunkeness and ignorance soon lead to bloodshed … His Majesty [Akbar] himself called some of the prostitutes and asked them who had deprived them of their virginity?” This was the state of affairs during Akbar’s rule, where alcoholism, sodomy, prostitution and murderous assaults were permitted by the king himself. The conditions of the civic life during Akbar’s life is shocking! Sodomy was a precious service of Akbar’s own family. Babur, Akbar’s grandfather, has given a lengthy description of this sodomic infatuation for a male sweetheart. Humayun was no different. Though perhaps Akbar did not engage in sodomy, he “allowed” it to be practiced by his servants, courtiers and sycophats. Abul Fazal in Ain-e-Akbari provides accounts of some such acts which are too disgusting to even mention. Such perverse gratification was prevelant during the Moghal rule, and in Akbar’s times. That Akbar remained monogamous throughout his life is indeed history falsified myth. Again quoting V.Smith (pp.47),”.. Akbar, throughout his life, allowed himself ample latitude in the matter of wives and concubines!” and further, ” Akbar had introduced a whole host of Hindu the daughters of eminent Hindu Rajah’s into his harem.” (pp.212). An account of how the Jaipur rulers were coerced into sending their daughters to the Mogul harem is found in Dr. Srivastava’s book Akbar – The Mogul (Vol.1). Shelat notes (p.90),” (after the “Jauhar” that followed the killing of Rani Durgawati) the two women left alive, Kamalavati (sister of Rani Durgawati) and the daughter of the Raja of Purangad (daughter-in-law of the deceased queen) were sent to Agra to enter Akbar’s harem.” It should also be observed that adimittance into Akbar’s harem was available mainly to virgins and others’ were “disqualified”. Inspite of such disgusting and lewd personal affairs, inducting women of abducted or killed Hindu warriors into his harem as slaves and prostitutes, it is bewildering that Akbar is hailed as a righteous and noble emperor. The personality and nature of Akbar has been nicely summed up by the Editor of Father Monserrate’s Commentarius. The editor’s introduction states, “In the long line of Indian soverigns, the towering personalities of Ashoka and Akbar (because of his dread) stand high above the rest… Akbar’s greed for conquest and glory and his lack of sincerity form a marked contrast to Ashoka’s paternal rule, genuine self-control and spiritual ambition. Akbar’s wars were those of a true descendent of Timur, and had all the gruesome associations which this fact implies.” “The old notion that Akbar’s was a near approximation to Plato’s philosopher king has been dissipated by modern resarches. His character with its mixture of ambition and cunning has now been laid bare. He has been rightly compared to a pike in a pond preying upon his weaker neighbours .. Akbar was unable to give up his polygamous habits, for no importance needs to be attached to the bazaar gossip of the time that he once intended to distribute his wives among his grandees.” Whole of India was reduced to a brothel during the Moghal rule and Akbar, one of the Emperors, is being glorified as one of the patrons of the vast brothel. The above instances may suffice to convince the impartial reader that Akbar’s whole career was a saga of uninhibited licentiousness backed by the royal brute. Akbar’s Barbarites Glancing at the events in the reign of Akbar, it is a compelling deduction that he was no less cruel a tyrant than any of his ancestors. With his trecherous nature and the unlimited power than he wielded over a vast region qualifies him to be one of the foremost tyrants and sadists in India’s history, or perhaps, even world history. Vincent Smith (p.50) says that in a privately executing Kamran’s son [namely, Akbar's own cousin] at Gwalior in 1565, “.. Akbar set an evil example, initiated on a large scale by his descendents Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.” This does not cause a serious alarm knowing the percious heritage of duplicity and trechery handed down to Akbar by his ancestors. Generations of martial races (Rajputs) were cut off by his (Akbar) sword … he was long ranked with Shahbuddin and Alla (Allauddin) and other instruments of destruction, and with every just claim; and like these he constructed a Mumbar (a pulpit for islamic preachers) for the Koran from the altar of Eklingji (the deity of the Rajput warriors).” (Todd, p.259) Not only that he forcibly annihilated innumerable humans, he also had no respect for temples and deities and willingly indulged in destruction of such places of worship. That Akbar refused to strike a helpless and injured prisoner seems to be utterly false. At an tender age of 14, Akbar slashed the neck of his Hindu adversary Hemu brought before him unconcious and bleeding. After the fateful battle of Panipat, the unconcious Hemu was brought before Akbar who smote Hemu on his neck with his scimitar, and in Akbar’s presence, the bystanders also plunged their swords into the bleeding corpse. Hemu’s head was sent to Kabul and his trunk was gibbeted at one of the gates of Delhi. After victorious forces pushing south from Panipat after that great victory (at Panipat), writes Smith (pp.29), “marched straight into Delhi, which opened its gates to Akbar, who made his entry in state. Agra was also passed into his possession. In accordance with the ghastly custom of the times, a tower was built with the heads of the slain. Immense treasures were taken with the family of Hemu whose aged father was executed.” This “tower of heads” tradition and ceremony was religuously preserved by the “magnanimous” Akbar. After the capture of Chittor, says Smith (p.64), “.. Akbar exasperated by the obstinate resistance offered to his arms, treated the town and garrison with merciless severity. The 8000 strong Rajput garrison having been zealously helped during the seige by 40,000 peasants, the emperor ordered a general massacre which resulted in the death of of 30,000 (even thought the struggle was over). Many were made prisoners.” Such terrible was his humanitarian outlook as towards his defeated adverseries. L.M. Shelat writes more on this incident that (pp.105), “neither the temples nor the towers escaped the vandalism of the invaders”. There were events where intolerant Akbar ordered the excision of one man’s tongue, trampling opponents to death by elephants and other private or informal executions and assacinations. After a victorious battle at Ahemadabad, in accordance with the gruesome custom at the times, a pyramid was built with the heads of the rebels, more than 2000 in number. At one time, enraged on seeing a hapless lamplighter coiled up near his couch, Akbar order that the servant be shreded into thousand pieces! What else can one expect the barbaric and unscrupulous Akbar? Akbar’s reign of horrid cruelties includes the following incident which must be considered the jewel in the crown of horrid pastimes. Vincent Smith writes (pp.56) “An extraordinary incident which occured in April while the royal camp was at Thanesar, the famous Hindu place of pilgrimage to the north of Delhi, throws a rather unpleasant light on Akbar’s character… The Sanyasins assembled at the holy tank were divided into two parties, called the Kurs and Puris. The leader of the latter complained to the King that that the Kurs had unjustly occupied the accustomed sitting place of the Puris who were thus debarred from collecting the pilgrims’ alms.” They were asked to decide the issue by mortal combat. They were drawn up on either side with their arms drawn. In the fight that ensued the combatants used swords, bows, arrows and stones. “Akbar seeing that the Puris were outnumbered gave a signal to some of his savage followers to help the weaker party.” In this fight between the two Hindu sanyasin sects Akbar saw to it that both were ultimately annihilated by his own fierce soilders. The chronicler unctuously adds that Akbar was highly delighted with this sport. How can an emperor, so noble and great, can have a sadist mind that relishes and obtains “delight” by ordaining and watching two Hindu sanyansin sects being slaughtered? Killing and massacring others’ was regarded as a pastime and diversion by a bereaved Akbar. The chronicler Ferishta notes (Briggs, p.171), “Prince Murad Mirza falling dangerously ill (May 1599) was buried at Shapoor. The corpse was afterwards removed to Agra, and laid by the side of Humayun, the prince’s grandfather. The kings grief for the death of his son increased his desire for the conquering the Deccan, as a means of diverting the mind.” Could there exist a more sinister kind of sadism? Akbar’s cruelty towards the Hindu women kidnapped and shut up in his harem were stagerring and his much vaunted marraiges said to have been contracted for communal integration and harmony were nothing but outrageous kidnappings brought about with the force of arms. This is apparent from Akbar’s marriage to Raja Bharmal’s daughter that occured at Deosa “when people Deosa and other places on Akbar’s route fled away on his approach.” (Shrivastava, pp.63). Why would the people flee in terror if at all Akbar was “visiting” Raja Bharmal and that the marraige was congenial and in consent with the bride’s party? Far from abolishing the practice of Sati, Akbar invited the Jesuit priests to watch the “considerble fun” and supporting it by his weighty judgement and explicit approbation. (Monserrate’s Commentary, pp.61). Many more horried facts on Akbar’s rule can be added. Even the infamous tax, which supposedly was abolished by Akbar, was continually being collected in Akbar’s reign. A number of persons were secretly executed on Akbar’s orders and a list of such people is provided by Vincent Smith. Akbar’s reign was nothing but terror, torture and tyranny for his subjects and courtiers as is obvious from the quoted events. There are numerous other occasions and recorded events from Akbar’s life that personifies him as a devil incarnate, contrary to what has been propagated. Akbar’s Fanaticism Akbar was born a muslim, lived like a muslim and died as a muslim; that too a very fanatic one. Histories have dubbed him as a true believer who accomplished a synthesis of the best principles of all religions. The infamous Jiziya tax, which is special tax exaction from the Hindus, was never abolished by Akbar. Time and time again different people had approached seeking exemption from Jiziya. Everytime the exemption was ostensibly issued, but never was actually implemented. Throughout Akbar’s reign, temples used to razed to the ground or misappropriated as mosques and cows were slaughtered in them, as happened in the battle at Nagarkot. No symbol of Hindu origin and design was spared from the iconoclastic wrath of Akbar. Xavier, a Jesuit in Akbar’s court, gives a typical instance of Akbar’s perfidy in making people drink water in which his feet had been washed. Xavier writes, says Smith (p.189), Akbar posed ” as a Prophet, wishing it to be understood that he works miracles through healing the sick by means of the water in which he washed the feet.” Badauni says that this [the above] special type of humiliation was reserved by Akbar only for Hindus. Says Badayuni, “… if other than Hindus came, and wished to become disciples at any sacrifice, His Majesty reproved them.” Where was his broadminded and tolerant nature then? Yet another Xavier’s letter (MacLagan, p.57 and Du Jarric, p.90) states, “The Christian fathers got little opportunity of holding religious discussions with Akbar or influencing him in favour of Christianity …Akbar silenced Xavier by telling him that the freedom accorded to him in preaching his religion was itself a great service.” Akbar was not at all a tolerant of other religious faiths. Akbar had filled both his hands with 50 gold coins when Badayuni expressed his strong desire to take part in a “holy war” (massacring Hindus) and “dye these black moustachois and beard in (hindu) blood through loyalty to Your Majesty’s person” (sic). Akbar far from dispproving of Badayuni’s despicable desire, gladly presented him with a decent premium. The Hindus were treated as thirdclass citizens in Akbar’s reign is evident from the Ain-i-Akbari. Abul Fazal writes, “… he [Husayn Khan, Akbar's governer at Lahore] ordered the Hindus as unbelievers to wear a patch (Tukra) near the shoulders, and thus got the nick name of Tukriya (patcher).” (Bochmann., p.403) The patch was obviously to mark the “unbelievers” out as pariahs for providing special degrading treatment. The holy Hindu cities of Prayag and Banaras, writes Vincent Smith (p.58), were plundered by Akbar because their residents were rash enough to close their gates! No wonder Prayag of today has no ancient monuments — whatever remain are a rubble! It is rather obvious that Akbar had no respect and reverance for cities considered holy by Hindus, let alone esteem for human life and property. Also, it is evident from this instance that Akbar’s subjects were horrified and scared upon the arrival of their king into their city. If at all Akbar was so magnanimous, why then did not the people come forward and greet him? Monserrate, a contemporary of Akbar, writes (p.27), “the religious zeal of the Musalmans has destroyed all the idol temples which used to be numerous. In place of Hindu temples, countless tombs and little shrines of wicked and worthless Musalmans have been erected in which these men are worshipped with vain superstition as though they were saints.” Not only did the muslims destroy the idols, but usurped the existing temples and converted them into tombs of insignificant people. Akbar has neither any love or compassion for Hindus as is apparent from the above examples. Hindus were openly despised and contemptously treated under Akbar’s fanatical rule as under any other rule. Akbar was only one of the many links of the despotic and cruel Moghal rule in India, and enforced the tradition of his forefathers with sincerity and equal ruthlessness. Akbar’s (mal) Administration Akbar was so penurious and retentive of money that ..” he considered himself to be heir of all his subjects, and ruthlessly seized the property of every deceased whose family had to make a fresh start … Akbar was a hard headed man of business, not a sentimental philanthropist, and his whole policy was directed principally to the aquisition of power and riches. All the arrangements about Jagirs, branding (horses) etc., were devised for the one purpose namely, the enhancement of the power, glory and riches of the crown.” (Smith, p.263). The latter statement indicates what a marvellous and altruist administrator Akbar was! Akbar’s lawless and rapacious rule also led to horrible famines — Delhi was devastated and the mortality was enormous. Gujrat, one of the richest provinces in India, suffered severly for 6 months in 1573-74. Smith writes, “The famine which began in 1595 and lasted three or four years until 1598 equalled in its horrors the accession year and excelled the visitation by reason of its longer duration. Inundation and epidemics occasionally marred Akbar’s reign.” And Akbar is said to have done nothing to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses, instead accumulated all the wealth he had amassed into forts and palaces. Refering to the Gujarat famine, Dr. Shrivastava (p.169) writes, “… the famine was not caused by drought or the failure of seasonal rains, but was due to the destruction wrought by prolonged wars and rebellions, constant marching and counter-marching of troops, and killing men on a large scale, and the breakdown of admnistrative machinary and the economic system … The mortality rate was so high that on an average 100 cart-loads of dead bodies were taken out for burial in the city of Ahemadabad alone ..” Smith asserts that epidemics and inundiation often marred Akbar’s reign, and at the time of such distress, writes Badayuni (Blochmann, p.391), parents were allowed to sell their children. Utter lawlessness and stately permissions to carry out immoral activities seem to the norm during Akbar’s reign. Deadly pestilence and frightful famine appeared on the scene from time to time and lasted for years together, due to Akbar’s callous and inadequate administrative capacities. Noble in character that Akbar was that his generals and courtiers, even including his son Jehangir, revolted against him. Interminable wars and unending rebellions were continuing somewhere or the other in his so-called peaceful reign. Dr. Shrivastava nicely summarizes (p.381) , “The vast empire hardly ever enjoyed complete immunity from some kind of disturbance and rebellion. Some chief or the other taking advantage of slackness of administration, lack of vigillance … or the occurance of a natural calamity raised its head in revolt. It is tedious to recount cases of civil disturbance.”. On an occasion of an accident, rumours spread about the seriousness of the injury and possibly the death of Akbar which caused revolts and rebellions in distant parts of the country, and many paraganas were plundered by turbulent people! Had Akbar been do generous as he is often made out to be and his reign so just and kind, peace and contentment should have prevailed during his lifetime and upon his death, the subjects should have looked upon his children with devotion love and respect. However, due to nature of Akbar’s rapacious rule, everyone from princes to paupers wished to overthrow Akbar. The (usurped) Buildings With constant famines, wars and revolts occuring the Akbar’s era, where then did he get the time and money to construct buildings of magnificence and grandeur, like the Fort at Agra ? Akbar is said to have built several forts and palaces and founded many townships. However, as seen earlier, Akbar simply renamed pre-existing townships of Hindu origin and claimed to have been built by himself. One such unfortunate township is that of Fatehpur Sikri. It has a massive defensive wall around it, enclosing redstone gateways and a majestic palace complex, explicitly in the Rajput style. It is the creation of these buildings and gateways that are accredited to Akbar. Fatehpur Sikri (or Fatehpur/Sikri) was an ancient independent principality before its occupation by the muslims. Testifying to this Todd says (p.240), ” [Rana Sangram Singh] came to the Mewar throne in 1509 A.D. Eighty thousand horses, seven Rajas of the highest rank, nine Raos and 104 cheiftains, bearing the titles of Rawal and Rawut with 500 elephants follwed him into the field (against Babur). The princess of Marwar and Amber did him homage, and the Raos of Gwalior, Ajmer, *Sikri* … served him as tributaries ..” The above passage makes it clear that even during the reign of Akbar’s grandfather Babur, Sikri was ruled by a “Rao”, who owed allegiance to Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar. Another reference to Fatehpur Sikri is of the year 1405 (150 years before Akbar) when Ikbal Khan was killed and his head was sent to Fatehpur (E&D, p.40). Also it is stated (E&D, p.44) that Khizr Khan (the founder of Sayyad dynasty, 1500 A.D.) remained in *Fatehpur* and did not go to Delhi. Even Babur has stated that Agra and *Sikri* housed several palaces equally magnificent (E&D, p.223). These 15th century references will, for now, suffice to prove the existence of Fatehpur Sikri before even Akbar was born, and that the beautiful buildings were not built by Akbar. The Red Fort of Agra, also originally of Rajput design and construction, was usurped by Akbar. However, an account says that Akbar demolished the fort in 1565, apparently for no reason, and constructed another in its place. Surprisingly, in 1566, Adham Khan was punished by being thrown down from the second storey of the royal apartments inside the fort! Keene (Handbook for Visitor’s to Agra and Its Neighbourhood) quotes this rumour and casts a very pertinent doubt that is the fort was demolished in 1565, how is it possible for Akbar to stay there in 1566 and a man was flung down from the second story? Keene adds that even the foundation of the extensive fort could not have been complete within three years. Neither did Akbar demolish the fort, nor did he rebuild an entire structure. He simply comandeered the fort from its original inhabitants, and claimed to have been built by him. Similarly, the palaces and mansions in Ajmer, Allahabad, Manoharpur and other townships were simply usurped by Akbar. He never ordered engineers and architects to build to build magnificent buildings. Testifying to this, Monserrate in his Commentarius (p.16) remarks, “.. musalmans whose nature is indeed that of barbarians, take no interest in such things (erecting massive and ornate buildings and townships). Their chronicles being scanty and unreliable and full of old wives tales…” The fraudulent claims that Akbar designed and built these monuments are fabricated stories written by muslim chroniclers toadying for Akbar’s favours. Summary Akbar’s life has been full of acts of cruelties, barbaric behaviour, lust for women and wine. Considering the background in which Akbar was brought up and the environment in which he lived, it was indeed a surprise that he would develop qualities of compassion and love. Even assuming that such miracles can occur, unfortunately, Akbar’s reign and state of administration contradict such an assumption and one is compelled to conclude that Akbar was no better a monarch than his forefathers. Apparently from what was described above, Akbar has been given unecessary credit of being tolerant, secular and an altruist king. His sycophantic courtiers, including the court chroniclers, alloted to him all the praises he desired. Upon some inspection, the nine-gem story of Akbar’s court becomes a sheer invention of court flatterers, who sought Akbar’s favour for self-aggrandizement. Akbar’s recalcitrance and callousless in the matters of caring for his subjects and domain, led to untold misery in the form of famines and pestilence. Wars, revolts and rebellions constantly erupted concluding is mass mayhem and killings. There was no tranquility nor peace in Akbar’s reign, let alone material and spiritual prosperity. That an avaricious miser Akbar was, it is rather unbelievable for him to have spent on creating expensive buildings and mansions. He was no better than other muslim monarchs, constantly on the prey to usurp power and pelf by whatever means they could. Morality and humanitarian principles took a back seat to self aggrandizement and lechery. Even after exercising numerous abductions, kidnappings, murders Akbar have been refered to as noble, compassionate and great. Even though religious fanatism never decreased in his reign, nay, was sponsored by Akbar himself, he has been termed as a secular, broadminded person. Such blunders of a serious magnitude have been committed by historians reconstructing and writing accounts on Indian history. It may be worthwhile to research and present the “true” story of Akbar exposing to the world the true nature of Akbar and his personality. The Moghal rule in India was indeed very ruthless and full of difficult times for the people and the country; truly a “dark” age. References Smith, V., “Akbar, The Great Mogul,” 2nd Edition, S.Chand and Co., Delhi, 1958. Todd, James.,”Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan,” 2 volumes, Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1957. Shelat J.M, “Akbar,” Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, 1964, Bombay. Blochmann, H., “Ain-e-Akbari,” translation of Abul Fazal’s Persian text, 2nd Edition, Bibliotheca Indica Series, published by the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. Briggs, John, “History of Mahomedan Power in India (till the year 1612 A.D),” Vol.2, Translated from the original Persian of Mahomad bin Ferishta, S. Dey Publication, Calcutta, 1966. Shrivastava, A.L., “Akbar the Great,” Vol.1, Shiv Lal Agarwal and Co., Agra. Monserrate S.J., “The Commentary,” translated from original Latin by J.S. Hoyland, annotated by S.Banerjee, Humphrey Milford, Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1922. Blochmann H., “Ain-i-Akbari” edited by D.C Phillot, Calcutta, 1927. Elliot and Dowson,” Tuzak-i-Babari”, Vol.4.