RE: rightwing paper

["Net Geek" <>]

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Dear Nukkies
            My humble response to postings by Akshay, Ninad & Mubashir.



[Mubashir]
>All minorities, beware of hawks like Akshay Joshi , who want to treat >all 
>non hindu as second class citizen

Well you brand someone else as a hawk, but how about yourself? You harp 
about the insecurity of the minority community wheras your counterpart try 
to exploit the insecurity of the majority community. In my view both are 
hawkish postures. Also friend, I would very much appreciate if you elaborate 
the terms "minority" and "majority". Which category of Indian fall into the 
category of "perfect minority" and "perfect majority"? Let’s take myself as 
a test case. I’m from Kerala, a Malayalee and Christian by faith. In my home 
state I’m just a religious minority. But once I leave my state I become a 
religious as well as linguistic minority.  Once I leave my region (South 
India) I’m a minority as far as language, religion and region is considered. 
So in which way are you a minority? Which way are others a majority? In 
short one cannot distinguish any Indian as being a minority or a majority. 
As far as I’m concerned, I’m an Indian, I’m a Keralite but certainly not a 
minority or a majority.  I’m like any other Indian, look like any other 
Indian and follow traditions and culture like any other Indian. My faith is 
a private aspect and is no way related to my identity and existence. One 
starts to cultivate a minority complex because of the feeling of insecurity. 
For me I don’t feel insecure in any way. Just because some frenzied 
terrorists kill innocent Hindus in Kashmir doesn’t make me to believe that 
Islam is at fault, only some rotten elements are at fault. Similarly just 
because some militants pull down a mosque or kill a missionary doesn’t make 
me to believe that Hinduism is fundamentalist in nature. Those people 
represent only a fringe not Hindus as a whole. Minority politics and 
majority politics are both equally harmful to the nation. I wonder why you 
should feel insecure. You are educated and can anlyse events in the right 
manner. No one has treated you or a family as second-class citizens. You 
should be the secular role model to others in your community. So my humble 
advise to you is to shed off your minority complex, stop viewing other 
fellow countrymen with distrust. Criticise wrong doings irrespective of 
whether they are committed by the so-called minority community or majority 
community. Believe in a single community, Indian community.



[Akshay]

I appreciate your efforts in compiling a list of various problems faced by 
the nation. I fully agree with each and every point but disagree with your 
remedies and the reasoning behind it. You claim that politicians, 
intellectuals and press pamper the minorities. Well I should admit that 
there is some truth in it. But the solution to that is not to support  right 
wing organisations like RSS or VHP. Remember a thief or a thug need to be 
tackled by a cop not by another opponent thief.  Growth of such 
organizations will only further deepen the discontent among other religious 
communities. Also growth of ultra right wing leaders will only disintegrate 
the nation not strengthen it. Look at what Slobodan Milosevic did to 
Yugoslavia and Adolph Hitler did to  Germany. Do you want the same fate to 
fall upon India?  You also mentioned Uniform Civil Code Law as a solution to 
the problem. Let me ask you what guarantee is there that members of one 
community will not attempt to thrust their view in the guise of  a uniform 
civil code? Uniform cicil code is a good and novel idea but unfortunately 
those who frame it, our so called intellectuals and politicians are either 
minority appeasers or majority appeasers. What they ultimately draft will be 
worse than the problem itself. So what is the remedy? Well we are really in 
a catch 22 situation. There is a dearth of choice for the common man. He is 
forced to vote for either of the camps. Unless there is a political movement 
or group who acts in the best interests of the nation and not vote banks, a 
political solution is distant. What we can do is to contribute to the 
upbringing of a truly secular and responsible generation by teaching 
teaching our kids real values and  to judge people based on their character 
and qualities and not their faith or caste. Also let us try our best to make 
our fellow brothers understand that what the nation needs is prosperity, 
jobs and growth, not Ram Mandirs or Babri Masjids.



[Ninad]
>Much better than those so called "NON-FUNDAMENTALISTS", who try to >change 
>the religion of Adivasis in India, by force and by the power of >money 
>taken as "GRANT" from the west

Friend Ninad, just because of some rotten elements do not completely 
undermine the efforts of missionaries. A real missionary works for the 
downtrodden without expecting any reward in return. How many people did Fr. 
Damien convert to Christianity while serving lepers? At home how many 
conversions did Mother Theresa perform She was never bothered about out and 
worked for the poor and downtrodden in such a way that everyone respects her 
cutting across religious and caste lines.  Those people are real 
missionaries others are just evangelists with a hidden agenda whom no 
self-respecting Christian will vouch for. Also coming to conversion, in 
practice can we have a society totally devoid of it? What explanation can 
one give when someone voluntarily accepts a religion as part of love 
marriage? Isn’t it best to leave it to the individual to decide?




Bye


Netgeek
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