Inspite of all falacies, I feel these destitutes have one place to go.
Otherwise they may be subjected to inhuman treatment at home, from
their own kith and kin which is even more painful physically and emotionaly.
This article is intersting. Living the scenes and then reading
abouth them flooded my mind with the time we shared together. It is
definitly one of the trips of a lifetime that I share in my heart as well
as in pictures, the videos, and converstaion. It will never end!
I read with interest the article “The Roots of Sufism.” My understanding of Sufism is different than what is presented here. Today let me dwell on Bhagavad-gita and Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad, both of which are mentioned in the above article as sources that effuses mysticism. I beg to differ.
Bhagavad-gita (BG) is essentially a political book. The gist of BG is to transform a vulnerable person into a killer. That is exactly what Krishna is doing to Arjuna.
Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad (BAU) is probably the largest of roughly 1,200 Upanishads. BAU is notorious for its immoral and unethical teachings. For example:
1. …Therefore one should revere woman below—He stretched out for himself that stone which projects. With that he impregnated her. [6.4.2]
2. If she should not grant him his desire, he should bribe her. If she still does not grant him his desire, he should hit her with a stick or with his hand, and overcome her, saying: ‘With power, with glory I take away your glory’. Thus she becomes inglorious. [6.4.7]
Verses like these are numerous and some even worse. Last year at the University of Colorado, in a course on religion, students were assigned to read the major Upanishads including BAU. Once the students recognized its immoral contents, they asked the professor to put a stop to the course, and advised him to never assign these “Hindu scriptures” in the study of religions. They were truly offended.
We appreciate your feedback. However, it will be more appropriate if you can specifically state how Ms. Chatterji is "spreading lies" about Mr. Modi, Hinduism or Hindus. Unless you specifically explain how Ms. Chatterji is wrong in her analysis, it does not help making allegations which may not be true. As an author she cannot respond to your accusations until you explain why you think her report on Gujarat and Narendra Modi is wrong. You are welcome to send us your views in detail, and we will publish it in the magazine and also pass it to the author.
Dr. Chatterji’s report is complete with detailed references. If you believe that the article is irresponsibly written then we request you to send us your detailed point wise rebuttal for publication. We hope to hear from your soon.
Editors
SikhSpectrum.com
*****
Dear Editor,
Ms. Anjana Chatterji has conveniently avoided in her long attack on Hindus how the S6
coach alone got burned. Communal clashes worldwide are
incontrollable. Modi is one of the cleanest and best administrator India
can get. I think in the name of intelligence and creative writing, as usual,
you are writing total lies and misinterpretation of Hinduism and
Hindus. If you become a Christian you are not a sinner. If you are a Muslim you are not a kafir. You are a Hindu and so have the freedom to express your present thoughts how ever wrong they are. I really would dare you to write on Christianity, the U.S. Government approach to faith based organizations funding, or about Muslim extremists
and any other related topics? We will then see your intelligence wavering
and hiding under the cover of secularism and religious freedom etc.
Ms. Chatterji is still living in the glorious past where the ever peace loving
Hindus were murdered, burned, their women taken away but our politicians
continued their poetic speeches of secularism and brotherhood, not hearing
the cries of their fellow country men. Take the independence day speech by
Pandit Nehru. No one can ever imagine at that very moment lakhs of Hindus
were killed and burnt in their own homes. It was RSS that braved the knives
and bullets and saved the countrymen.
Ms. Anjana may not know this or may not have heard of this before. She should check the history books. Till today our Indians do not know the beastly attack on Hindu majority by the minority Muslims and that is secularism. Hindu temple funds are government funds. But mosque and church money are their own. A Hindu can marry once and have one or maximum two children but a Muslim can marry four wives and they can have their own personal law.
Why cant Anjana comment on the slavery and butchery of Muslim women under their own law? That of course she respects their religious doctrines. Christian missionaries in the name of NGO are creating havoc preaching that Hindu gods are satanic. They now enjoy Government and media support. If India is truly secular the let all Indians be equal
before law. Such an irresponsible article causes agony to millions of Hindus
who are being killed in Kashmir till today by the Muslims. And madam if it is your brother or your husband facing the bullet I bet your article will be different. Please do not
condemn the Sangh Parivar. It is like condemning the freedom fighters of
India.
Naunidhi Kaur deserves applause for bringing the problem of Punjabi brides married to immigrant Punjabis on the Internet forum. This issue should be discussed widely in the Punjabi community on every available platform, as it is about degradation of human values.
The main cause behind this problem is the lure of riches and good life in foreign lands. Generally, parents of these girls use them as sacrificial lambs for a ticket to foreign countries for the family members. In the past such parents were denounced and called kanjars (parents who use their daughters for making a living).
Sometimes parents of the groom, to show off their immigrant status, demand big dowries. Quite often even well-educated girls working as lecturers, teachers, nurses, and social workers themselves insist on marrying in foreign countries. Occasionally, there are cases when a girl uses marriage as a vehicle to reach foreign shores and then she dumps the groom.
Lack of moral conviction leads to degradation of human values, the loss of self-respect, and human dignity.
I have been searching for these types of records for my research. The
work done by the author is excellent, and we are thankful to him for the same.
Further, last year, I had organized an exhibition on Sikhism at Salarjung
Museum in Hyderabad from 6 May till 20 May, 2004, which was inaugurated by
his excellency S. Surjeet Singh Barnala, Governor of Andhra Pradesh. This
year I plan to organize an exhibition on Sikhs and shaheedi around
November / December. If you have any further information on Sikh
shaheeds in independent India kindly let me know.
I enjoyed reading this article. Although I visit India once every few years,
this article has shown me new things. Mr. Aulakh has done a great
job in sharing his travel experience.
Naunidhi Kaur's editorial has tellingly brought out the causes and extent
of partner abuse of Indian women in North America. She has also touched
upon the lure of immigration to USA and Canada for Punjabi families that
sometimes sacrifice even the career of their promising daughters.
'Singhni-at-arms' refers to an important event in Sikh history. Rendering
history into poetry is not an easy task and the author has done a
commendable job. The lines-
'Tear the disclaimer, O forgiver,
reclaim us as your own.'
touch deep chords. Emotions are intact even in war. The writer
has significantly captured the equanimity of the Sikh warrior, who is
hardly over-whelmed by the business of 'life and death', the only
alternatives on a battlefield.
The poem also brings out the role women play or are allowed to play in
Sikh world. When we place the action in time - some three centuries ago -
this milestone in Sikh ethos assumes prominence.
The level of SikhSpectrum articles is, by and large, good. Could it be
possible to bring out the publication on monthly basis?
You have compared Kural 29 with that of Nanak's saying "Truth is highest,
but still higher is truthful living". Actually a still better translation
of the verse is that of P.S. Sundaram: "In all the gospels we have read,
we have found nothing held higher than truthfulness", which is much closer
to Nanak's saying.
An important question. I know that the Kural has been translated into
Punjabi by Ram Murthy Sharma in 1983. It is a Chandigarh publication (if
this is correct) and I am desparately looking for a coy of the same. Can
you please help me?
Whatever has been written is after excluding the fact that Gurmat
starts with some basic principles and "daya" is one part of it “ Athshat tirath sagal pun jee dayaa parvan.
Even after reading these lines numerous times from the Adi Granth we still
keep advocating non-vegetarian diet. The author’s claim that Bhai Sahib wants
us to eat our wives and children makes him hypocritical; a person
who has daya, love, lust and maya when it comes to the flesh of his or her
relatives but the moment we talk about animal flesh all these qualities go
away.
Gagan Mohan Singh is right that daya (compassion-kindness-mercy) is one of the pillars of Nanakian philosophy (Gurmat). However, I strongly feel that it is not appropriate and proper to misuse daya in the debate over non-vegetarian diet. Anyone who distorts Guru’s teachings to pursue his / her agenda is a manmukh or bemukh.
Guru Nanak has made it abundantly clear the futility of controversy over meat eating when he says, “ Ignorant and foolish people who do not understand what is flesh or non-flesh quarrel over meat eating (AGGS, p 1289).” Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods come from living things.” Why the eating of non-vegetarian food is sinful and not the eating of vegetarian food? In the same Sabd Guru Nanak has also pointed that it is water which is source of all life. Modern science has also come to the conclusion that life originated in water and with evolutionary changes it adapted to flourish on land. Guru Angad too takes issue with those who say that meat eating is sin when he says: “The Creator of life in water (sea) also provides the sustenance for it. There, one form of life depends on another form of life as food (AGGS, M, 2, p 955).”
As I pointed out in my article, Aad Guru Granth Sahib does not advocate the preference of non-vegetarian food over vegetarian food or vice versa. About five centuries back Guru Nanak gave us a very sound advice about food: Avoid food that is injurious to health (AGGS, p 16). We are discovering now that many foods both non-vegetarian and vegetarian cause severe allergic reaction, even fatal ones. For example many people are allergic to wheat and other grains, milk, eggs and fish etc. This also implies that we should avoid the consumption of intoxicants - alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
Finally, I have some questions for Gagan Mohan Singh. Why does not he apply his reasoning of compassion and cruelty to vegetables and grains? Isn’t it cruel to pull a vegetable from its roots or to cut it from the stem or to break it from the branch and then chop it up into small pieces? If left alone the vegetable plant would mature to produce seeds and create more plants. Similarly, all grains are alive, sow them, they will produce more grains. Is not the crushing of grain into flour or the cooking of whole grain cruel? What about milk? Don’t we steel it from the calf? Would Gagan Mohan Singh condemn it by citing hak praya Nanka us sooar us gai (to deny someone his / her right is like eating pork by a Muslim and a cow by a Hindu, AGGS, p 141).
Why am I asking these silly questions? I want to emphasize by pointing out that we should not trivialize Gurbani and misuse it in a futile effort to support our absurd views.
Justice U.C. Banerjee’s report published earlier this year (2005) ascribed the fire in coach S-6 of Sabarmati Express as “accidental”, ruling out the possibility of “petrol” or “miscreant activity”, evidently denying the involvement of Muslims in the fire that killed 26 Hindus in Gujarat.
The Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948, states:
Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.
~~~~
Dear Editor,
I feel sick about the thoughts of religious and biased people? I am Siva, a Hindu, and not an extremist or anything. Just the normal religious person like 95% of the Hindus are.
I feel sick when I see these kind of articles. I can understand that IDRF has done wrong. I don't know much about the organization and haven't donated anything to it so far.
But then I saw the following quotes in your article:
"Sangh Parivar, an ultra-nationalist and exclusionary movement that has
been accused of orchestrating violence against religious minorities in
India including the recent genocidal killing of over 2,000 Muslims in the
state of Gujarat."
What happened in Gujrat is not a genocide or anything. It is a reaction by a
mob which got violent by burning of 26 people alive in a train and then
politicizing of the whole issue. Not one Muslim leader apologized the next
day. But every one calls it genocide and organized crime. I am not justifying
the wrong doing, but this is the truth as far as I can see.
I would like to thank Reverend Zekveld for his article on Biblical God. In it he mentioned the six day creation which went like this:
“In the first chapter of the Bible, we meet the Biblical God speaking and working for six days:
Day 1: He calls the light into existence and He divides the light from the darkness.
Day 2: He calls the expanse, or the sky, into existence to divide the waters above from below.
Day 3: He separates the waters under the sky and gathers them into one place (called seas) and calls into existence dry land (called earth). Then He causes the earth to bring forth grass, herbs and trees according to their kinds. Because God created plant life according to their kinds, scientists today have the ability to classify types and kinds!
Day 4: He calls into existence lights in the heavens (the sun, moon and the stars). Here we see the beginning of our clock and calendar, the 7 day week and 52 week year.
Day 5: He calls into existence sea creatures filling the seas and every winged bird according to its kind filling the heavens.
Day 6: Then God creates the animals according to their kinds. He fills the earth with them.
Finally, the climax of His creation is the creation of man. Man is not like the animals in that God creates man in His image, in His likeness.”
I would like to express my serious reservations with the above description because I find it incorrect. From the narrative it is clear that Biblical God is not speaking here. The author of the creation account is someone unknown who is writing the error-ridden account. For example:
1. God created light into existence on day 1 in light of when there were no moon, sun or stars until the fourth day. Without the existence of sun how is it possible to know the beginning and the end of the first three days?
2. The day 2 of creation which says “He calls the expanse, or the sky, into existence to divide the waters above from below” is baffling at best. Is there really a sky above? Does this “sky” divide the “waters above from below?”
3. On day 3 we read “Then He causes the earth to bring forth grass, herbs and trees according to their kinds.” Vegetation was created on the third day in light of the fact there was no sun for the photosynthesis until the fourth day. How is that possible?
4. The creation account says that life existed first on the land as plants and later the seas teemed with living creatures. The modern geological science says that the sea teemed with animals and vegetable life long before life appeared on land.
5. The day 5 we read “He calls into existence sea creatures filling the seas and every winged bird according to its kind filling the heavens.” Whereas the modern geological science says fishes appeared long before the birds. They were not created during the same day or period. Birds did not emerge from water. The problems dealing with the creation accounts are so numerous that it will take many more pages to elaborate them. Let me end it here.
--GB Singh
5
While Chatterji's evidence is compelling, it is...
You are requested to provide us with detailed description of what you consider as “dose of adequately chosen hearsay and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories” in the analysis provided by Angana Chatterji which we will gladly publish on SikhSpectrum.com and also forward to the author. We also welcome any comments from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Report that suggest that the accusations against the Gujarat administration, relating to the deaths of Muslims in 2002, are false.
Furthermore, we will like to point you to a news report published in The Hindu (June 10, 2005) and reproduced below.
Rajiv Gandhi Foundation clarifies on study
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) on Wednesday sought to distance itself from the study on "Economic Freedom of States of India" published by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, in which Gujarat has been mentioned as the "Best Governed State in India."
Though the report has been in the public domain for over a fortnight and the Gujarat Government has been flaunting it ever since, the clarification came on a day when full-page "Always Enterprising Gujarat" advertisements appeared in leading dailies.
The advertisement claims in bold letters that Gujarat had been adjudged the "Best Governed State" by the RGF. Reacting to this, the Foundation sought to underline the fact that the report was published by the Institute — a point acknowledged in the advertisement at the bottom of the page.
A statement issued by the RGF said the Institute was an "independent ‘think tank’ within the Foundation" which publishes a range of studies on diverse subjects for public debate on the "clear understanding that the views expressed in its publications are those of the authors, not of the Institute."
Such being the case, the RGF's contention is that the "Institute's recently published study on ‘Economic Freedom of States of India’ similarly reflects the views of the authors, not those of the Foundation or its chairperson and trustees."
After the report became public, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi publicly thanked RGF chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the distinction given to the State.
~~~~~
Dear Editor,
While Chatterji's evidence is compelling, it is, without doubt, censored
with a heavy dose of adequately chosen hearsay and unsubstantiated
conspiracy theories. A more thorough analysis of the Modi government
would yield what the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (ironically, a think tank
with a definite Congress tilt) has stated in their most recent report on
economic freedom. Gujarat, under Modi's leadership, maintains the
greatest economic freedom..the true measure of individual liberty. It is
worthy to note that the key ingredients of economic freedom are personal
choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and protection of person
and property. In addition to this, the report is all praise for Gujarat
from political decision-making to rendering of justice. So perhaps it's
reasonable to question what Chatterji and her funder's intentions truly
are.
We appreciate your comments and are publishing it online besides forwarding it to the author. Human Rights Watch report on the Gujarat killings also estimates that more than 2,000 people were killed while acknowledging that this is an unofficial estimate.
Many times the official estimates on such events are doctored. Unless an independent and reputable agency is allowed to investigate this incident thoroughly the differences in the official and the unofficial accounts will persist. This impartial investigation may also help uncover the truth and highlight inconsistencies, if any, in the report submitted by Justice Baneerji including Zahira Shaikh’s allegations against the social activist Teesta Setalvad, who has accused Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP leaders in Vadodara for paying Shaikh to change her testimony.
Apparently, the Supreme Court is now involved and, according to a Times of India report (May 24, 2005), it has asked the crime branch to probe these allegations.
“The detection of crime branch (DCB) here received summons from the Supreme Court committee to probe the allegations made by Best Bakery witness Zahira Sheikh and activist Teesta Setalvad against each other.
“Seven persons, including BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav and Congress councillor Chandrakant Shrivastav, will be issued the summons by the DCB. Others in whose name the summons have arrived include former deputy mayor Mohammed Vorah, Zahira’s brother Nafitullah Sheikh, Arif Malek, Lal Mohammed and Rehmatullah Sheikh….”
Thank you for the feedback on Dr. Chateerji’s article.
Editors
SikhSpectrum.com
~~~~~
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the opportunity to reply. There are many points that are tenous when labelled as facts in Chatterji's
report:
First off, the number of deaths has been exaggerated. Minister of State for
Home Affairs, in a Congress-led UPA government, Sriprakash Jaiswal's reply
to a Rajya Sabha MP's question on the 2002 riots in Gujarat were as follows:
1.The death toll has been officially pegged at 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus
2.There were 223 people missing and 2548 sustained injuries
Therefore, the notion that over 2,000 Muslims were killed is simply not
verified. Moreover, Chatterji should prove her statistic. Otherwise it is
merely a Goebbelsian tactic of repeating a lie till in the popular
perception it comes to be identified as the truth.
Also, Justice Banerjee's report, ironically at the behest of Railway
Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in the run-up to the Bihar/Jharkhand elections,
smack's of nothing more than political mileage for the RJD. Justice
Banerjee also refused to answer any questions from mediapersons after
submitting his report, which, was simultaneously released by Laloo Yadav in
at his residence in Patna. I suppose he gets an advanced copy since it was
originally his "Accident Theory." I suppose in there are some passengers
who would rather burn to death in the coach than face the angry mob
outside...that, I'm afraid, defies any common sense.
In the case of Zaheera Sheikh and the Best Bakery Case, Zaheera has acused
NGO-funded Teesta Setalvad of controlling her from July 2003 to Noverber
2004. This includes tutoring her to give a certain type of testimony and
also forging her signiture on a NHRC affadavit. In fact, the 600 pages of
documentation submitted by Setalvad's Citizens for Peace and Justice did not
contain one signiture by Zaheera. Because Zaheera did not fit the role of
"good victim," the conclusion cannot necessarily be that she is a "compro."
There are simply not only two choices...victim or compro.
There are other instances where Chatterji stretches common sense into
conspiracy theory. As far as knowing to target a Muslim owned a hotel with
a Hindu name, this could simply be common neighborhood knowledge. This
doesn't imply any complicity on the part of the state. To do so without
proof is merely an insinuation and reflects poor scholarship.
I hope these few examples show that her report is controversial as a purely
factual piece of work. It relies on statistics pull from thin air and
innuendos and anecdotes as proof.
With respect to the article entitled "Rajiv Gandhi Foundation clarifies on
study," the mere fact that an think tank within the Rajiv Gandhi foundation
published such a report suggests some validity. No think tank within a
Congress leaning organization would publish such a report, regardless of how
"independent" it is, without compelling evidence. Also, as far as comments
regarding the Gujarat administration and its complicity in the riots, I have
not seen any issued by the Rajiv Gandhi foundation that neither accuse Modi
or exonerate him, the former requiring the burden of proof.
Thanks for going through my article relating to Tiruvalluvar. Regarding
your clarifications I may add that I have consulted two different translations of Thirukurral, namely
(1) G.V.Pope translaters verse 30/10 as under:
"Of all good things we've scanned with studious care, There's nought that
can with truthfulness compare'.
(2) J. Narayanaswamy translation is more clear:
"Of things one ponders on and discovers nothing surpasses truth serence"
Yes, P.S. Sundarm's translation is equally closer to Guru Nank's verse on
truthfulness.
I have not been able to find the Punjabi translation of Thirukurral by R.M.
Sharma. However, I am trying to find the same in some local Chandigarh
library. If successful, I will inform you accordingly.
When I first read S. Shergill’s article I was shocked and disappointed to see his
lack of understanding of the basic concepts of Sikhism. For Sikhs kesh
is an essential part of the Sikh religion and culture. If someone new to
Sikhism does not consider this necessary then we should not shun them, but
at the same time we should be clear about our beliefs and values.
I want to congratulate my brother Delare Rathour, mom Amrit
Rathour, dad Raja Rathour, and Raymond J Kelly. One day I hope to become a
C.O. I just wish there were more Sikhs fighting crime than committing crime.
Thanks for publishing this article.
-- Harpreet Rathour
5
I want to express my views through this platform...
-Man Singh
Dear Mr. Singh,
Regarding your comparison of the message of Sikh Gurus and the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), we intend to stress that Guru Gobind Singh considered all human race as one and his battles were against tyranny and discrimination. Furthermore, the Guru accepted diversity in the spirit of co-existence just like his nine predecessors.
There is no difference between a temple and a mosque,
nor between the prayer of a Hindu or a Muslim.
Though differences seem to mark and distinguish,
all men are in reality the same.
The monastery and mosque, worship and namaz are the same,
there is among all humanity, a striking unity in diversity. (Akal Ustat)
This is in remarkable contrast with the ideology of Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, one of the leading figures of the RSS in its formative years, who claimed:
"To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races -- the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here..."
"The non-Hindu people in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and revere Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but the glorification of the Hindu nation… in one word, they must cease to be foreigners or may stay in the country wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment, not even citizen's rights." (Gowalkar quoted in Saffron Flags, Khaki Shorts, by Tapan Basu, et al, 1993.)
We would also appreciate if you could let us know the article(s) that prompted you to send us your comments. Not only will it benefit our readers, it will also enable us to forward your feedback to the respective author(s).
Editors SikhSpectrum.com
-.-.-.-.-
Dear Editor,
Re: With respect to your criticism of RSS's sewa wing Sewa International & Sewa Bharti
I want to express my views through this platform and want to ask what is wrong
in using our sewa activities to protect our Dharma from the assaults of
Semitic religions that are using the noble act of charity to buy the faith of
poor Hindus, Sikhs, Budhists and many others. If these assaulters, who
use marriage, money, muscle, educations, medical care and many other
fraudulent means to convert followers of Indian religions to theirs, then
what is wrong if RSS wants to protect the people from their trap.
Perhaps you might be aware of the history of pre-Christian Europe and
the last 300 yrs in North America that saw the elimination of native civilizations
from the face of the earth through the misuse of charity (sewa). Like police
chief and gang lord both are using and carrying the guns. But one is using to
terrorize and loot the people while other is using the same to protect the
people. RSS is using the same to protect the people's faith exactly what
revered Gurus did in last 500 years from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh.
Yes Guru Gobind Singh ji also carried the sword like Aurangzeb.
But whom should we criticize and whom should we praise depends on which side
you really are. Therefore the Western media will naturally oppose RSS as it
sabotages their designs of complete proselytization of India but for us, the
people of India, RSS should be the hero exactly the way Gurus were the
villains for the tyrants like Aurangzeb andother mullas but are heroes for
the entire Indian race.
Regards
Man Singh
5
Thank you very much for your kind consideration of...
-Man Singh
Dear Man Singh ji,
The editorial comment was on your comparison of the message of Sikh Gurus and the mission of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). We wanted to highlight that RSS is intolerant and discriminatory toward non-Hindus. In our response we had also quoted Guru Gobind Singh wherein he clearly states that religious exclusivity, although a part of our society, is not a Sikh concept primarily because Sikhs believe that all creation emanated from the same Being.
Furthermore, if you would like to present a critical analysis of the writings of Tapan Basu vis-à-vis the RSS please send it to us for publication. We are sure that your well-written rebuttal will provide the necessary insight to help our readers formulate an opinion on this issue.
Thank you for the reply and your continued interest in our publication.
Editors SikhSpectrum.com
-.-.-.-.-
Dear Editorji,
Thank you very much for your kind consideration of my comments. You have given me a new insight and a tendency to analyze things critically. I will go through the book referred by you (although it is second hand information written / translated by somebody). I am sure MS Golvalkar might have defined for whom he used the word ‘Hindu' but people like Tapan Basu will never give an entire picture of the ideology as they study RSS with predetermined conclusions, which clearly is intellectual dishonesty. These sorts of tactics were used by Aurangzeb also to malign the revered Gurus and even today people are doing the same to protect their vested interests.
I request you to go through yourself any original book by MS Golvalkar and not to rely on any translations or any second hand information by communists propagandists like Tapan Basu etc. You are an editor; you can investigate yourself. I am sure you might be aware how proofs are fabricated and witnesses are created by tyrants to malign Guru Teg Bahadur by Aurangzeb that he (Guruji) is instigating people against the government etc.
Now please enlighten me if the following teachings are compatible to the universal teachings of the Gurus: Please don’t take these quotes against any religion but analyze it with an open mind in an intellectual way:
1. There is No God But Allah and Mohammed is his final (last) messenger therefore convert the whole humanity to Islam as all other ways are worship are faulty and increase sin and hence deserve elimination from the face of the earth.
2. Jesus is the ‘Only way' for salvation and only those will be saved who seek shelter in Jesus and rest will get death therefore bring the whole humanity to Christ and eliminate all other form of worship.
Please evaluate if these two teachings listed above are compatible with the great humanistic teachings of the Gurus, and how should one deal with people, organizations, and nations involved in implementing such close-minded ideologies that consider the great humanistic teachings of our Gurus as flawed. You might be aware that in last 300 years what has happened to the original religions of North America (Aztecs, Incas, etc.) and let's discuss how to protect us from such evil forces. This is the burning question for the next 100 years for people of Indian origin.
This is a well-researched article. I always wanted to know about the contribution of Sikh soldiers in WWII. Sikhs are one of the finest races of India. Their three main characteristics are honesty, hard work, and extreme courage.
How lovely it is to see the names of those who served in Italy. How I wish
young Indians would wake up, know all that was contributed abroad, and
forget the ridiculous Bose-mania now afoot.
We apologize that the web page does not clearly state that the article was reproduced from the January 1967 issue of The Sikh Review. You may have noticed that this information was provided under the photocopy of the petition.
Editors SikhSpectrum.com
-.-.-.-.-
Sir,
The article says that on a recent visit, the present Nawab of Maler
Kotla... It is for your information that presently there is no Nawab of
Maler Kotla. Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, the last designated Nawab died more
than 20 years back.
Inspite of all falacies, I feel...