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| Have The Virtues Of Indian Society Become Its Vices Today? |
Dilip Gadkar
03/04/2009
Have The Virtues Of Indian Society Become Its Vices Today?
Recently we read an article by a City University of New York Professor blaming "Hindu Extremists" for the protests against Slumdog Millionaire in India. This epithet has been widely used by BBC, New York Times, Washington Post among others. It is a label that European Christian Journalists love to use and their loyal followers in the Indian media love to follow.
Much of Eastern Europe was conquered by Islamic Empires a few hundred years ago. As a part of their rule, they built mosques and other monuments through out the conquered lands in Europe. A few hundred years before that, between 711 and 1400s, Islam had become dominant in Spain. During such periods, mosques were built across Spain and many Spaniards were converted to Islam.
When European Christians reconquered Europe, they destroyed the mosques and converted them into Churches. They reconverted the Muslim Europeans back to Christianity.
No one calls these Europeans as Christian Extremists and protests their actions. Even today, those Europeans conquerors are praised and not vilified as Christian Extremists. 
(The Great Mosque of Cordoba converted into a Church after the Reconquest of Spain)
Islamic Empires conquered much of Northern India several hundred years ago. They build great mosques and monuments to their rule through out North India. They converted many Indian temples to mosques and forcibly converted hundreds of thousands of Indians to their brand of Islam.
When Indian states defeated the Islamic rulers and reconquered most of Northern India, they did NOT destroy the mosques that had been built in India, they did NOT convert the mosques into Temples and they did NOT reconvert the forcibly converted Indian Muslims back to Hinduism.
This behavior was in stark contrast to the behavior of European Christians who reconquered Europe. Yet, European Christian journalists are eager to paint Indian defenders of their beliefs as Hindu Extremists while they celebrate the extremist behavior of their ancestors.
The European Christians did not remain content with reconverting Europe back to Christianity. They began using their naval technology to extend their influence all over Latin America and Asia. The Portuguese landed in Goa, the south-eastern tip of Goa where they ruled until 1947-1948. They built large churches and forcibly converted Hindus to Christianity, often brutally. The British did the same across India, though less brutally.
When India threw out the English and reconquered Goa, Indian Society did not destroy the churches and reconvert the forcibly converted Christians back to Hinduism. Again, Indian Society remained true to its message of tolerance, inclusion and acceptance of other faiths.
If you don't believe us, go travel through Europe and see how many Mosques you see in European cities. Then go to India and see how many Christian Churches and Muslim Mosques you see in Indian cities.
Yet, today the European Christians feel bold enough to accuse Indian Society of Religious Extremism. And their sycophants in Indian media echo these labels. This is true of European Christian leaders as well. Nicolas Sarkozy of France has banned the use of Muslim scarfs and Sikh turbans in French schools. Yet, Sarkozy had the utter gall to question Prime Minister Manmohan Sign about religious freedom in India.
Why did Indian Society Not behave like European Christian Society
The answer is the inclusive, tolerant teachings of Sanaatan Dharma, the original set of religious beliefs established in India at the beginning of recorded history.
Sanaatan Dharma set forth the doctrine of One Universal Truth or One Universal God in the Ruug-Ved, the oldest living text of the Indo-European language group. This concept stated that there is One Universal Truth to which different Sages give different names. This doctrine was confirmed thousands of years later in the Bhagwat-Geeta (The Words or Poem of God), the most modern religious text of the Vedic period.
In the Bhagwat-Geeta, Shri Krishna, regarded as the Avatar of God on earth, tells Arjun, that "Whoever worships their God With True Devotion, according to their own religious tenets, they In Truth Worship Me." (see our article "One Universal Truth, One Universal God - Virtues Of Indian Dharma - I" - February 14, 2009 - http://cinemarasik.com/2009/02/14/one-universal-truth-one-universal-god--virtues-of-indian-religion--i.aspx .).
This virtue of tolerance and acceptance of all true beliefs of other faiths has been an enduring virtue of Indian Society. This virtue has enabled Indian society to absorb myriads of foreign influences and blend them into the mosaic of Indian culture.
Yet, this enduring Virtue has become a terrible Vice of Indian society today. Tolerance has turned into complacency and fatalism. Rational Acceptance has turned into weakness and ability to suffer injustice without fighting back.
Sheep should remain sheep and should never fight back
People who behaved peacefully and inclusively for hundreds of years are often considered as human sheep incapable of resistance. Such people are often praised in public (& privately held in contempt) for their passivity and acceptance of foreign rule, whether of law or of ideas.
This is what Indian society is being told today by European Christians. The tolerance of India is praised, the inclusivity of India is lauded while money is being poured into India for induced or forcible conversions of Indians into foreign faiths.
When a segment of Indian society speaks up or tries to resist, it is labeled as "Hindu Extremists" by European Christian journalists and TV commentators. Their loyal and often paid (we have read that over 60% of the funding for Indian TV shows comes from Christian or Muslim sources) followers in the Indian media jump on the bandwagon screaming epithets like Indian Communalists and tell Indian society that they are violating the sacred Indian principles of tolerance and acceptance.
Politicians from religious parties, narrow regional parties as well as mainstream parties often survive on support from votebanks of Muslim and Christian communities, They issue the loudest condemnations of all uttering the ultimate Indian words of political condemnation, "anti-secular".
Is this a fault of the Indian mainstream?
Yes. In our opinion.
The only people who seem to defend Indian Culture or Sanaatan Dharma are the fringe elements of Indian Society; people who turn up in streets, riot at whim and attack married couples celebrating Valentine's day in the name of Indian culture.
The Indian mainstream remains silent and supine. They do get angry and we are beginning to see a great deal of anger building in mainstream Indian society today. The Indian core sees the injustice we write about and they feel angry when the tolerance of Indian society is being abused by rabid forces of Christian and Muslim fringes in India in the name of religious freedom. They get incensed when Indian politicians allow induced conversions of thousands of Indians to other religions for money and promises of better jobs on earth as well as pleasures in heaven.
Yet, the Indian mainstream majority does not speak out. They have been brainwashed into a form of mental bondage that praises them when they remain quiet and reprimands them for being anti-secular or communalists when they speak out. The Indian Government and the Indian Media are the first to indict mainstream Indian society in this manner.
The silence of the Indian mainstream and the invectives of the political/media elite are creating a steady polarization of Indian Society and contributing to the buildup of deep, silent anger within the Indian core.
This is neither healthy nor acceptable. It is time that the majority speaks up in rational, moderate tones and take the European media and their Indian sycophants to task and confront them. Unless the good people of Indian Center speak up, the megaphone will remain in the hands of the fringe elements in India and the cycle of polarization will continue.
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