RAKSHA BANDHAN

Today is RAKHSA BANDHAN

Raksha literally means protection and bandhan means binding. This festival of love between brothers and sisters is a major Hindu festival which fall in the full moon day of the month of Shravana in North India . It is marked by sisters tying a protective amulet on the wrist of their brothers for their long live and protection. The brothers on their part pledge to protect their sisters against any danger.

Is indeed a very nice opportunity for a celebration missing in the W- European world and maybe more valuable than Valentine da , which in his commercialized form coming over from the US makes no real sense at all.

THE COW URINE COCKTAIL TO COMPETE WITH COCA-COLA

Hindus plan cow urine drink to rival Western sodas
A hardline Hindu organisation, known for its opposition to "corrupting" Western food imports, is planning to launch a new soft drink made from cow's urine, often seen as sacred in parts of India.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, said the bovine beverage is undergoing laboratory tests for the next 2 to 3 months but did not give a specific date for its commercial release.
The flavour is not yet known, but the RSS said the liquid produced by Hinduism's revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Many Hindus consider cow urine to have medicinal properties and it is often drunk in religious festivals.
The organisation, which aims to transform India's secular society and establish the supremacy of a Hindu majority, said it had not decided on a name or a price for the drink.
"Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80 incurable diseases like diabetes. All are curable by cow urine," Om Prakash, the head of the RSS Cow Protection Department, told Reuters by phone.
Prakash, who is based in Hardwar, one of four holy Hindu cities on the river Ganges where the world's largest religious gathering takes place, said the product will be sold nationwide but did not rule out international success.
"It is useful for the whole country and the world as well. It will be done through shops and through corporates," he said.
The Hindu group has campaigned against foreign imports such as Pepsi and Coca Cola in the past, which it sees as a corrupting influence and a tool of Western imperialism.
The RSS was temporarily banned after a Hindu mob tore down a mosque in 1992 which lead to bloody religious riots.
The Shiv Sena, a hardline Hindu political party also known for attacking what it sees as threats to Indian culture such as Valentine's Day, started a similar initiative last year to appeal to its powerbase in Mumbai.
To promote the food of the native Marathi culture, the Shiv Sena said it was "making a chain like McDonalds" to sell a popular local fried snack.

HINDHU TOLERANCE AND THE CHRISTIAN MASSACRES- AN EXPLANATION

I dislike to make copy-paste but this article of Kushwant Singh in Hindustan Times explains logically the reflections of upper- class Hindhu and the resentment and background of the culprits responsible for the massacres, still giving the impression that Hinduismus is the right faith giving no reason to convert.


Recent incidents of violence and vandalism against Christians and their churches deserve to be condemned unreservedly. They have blackened the fair face of Mother India and ruined the reputation of Hindus being the most religiously tolerant people in the world. At the same time, we must take a closer look at people who convert from one faith to another.

To start with, let it be understood that these days there are no forced conversions anywhere in the world. India is no exception. Those who assert that the poor, innocent and ignorant of India are being forced to accept Christianity are blatant liars. A few, very few educated and well-to-do men and women convert to another faith when they do not find solace in the faith of their ancestors. Examples are to be found in America and Europe of men and women of substance turning from Judaism and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.

There are also men and women who convert to the faith of those they wish to marry. We have plenty of cases of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh inter-marriages. However, the largest number of converts come from communities discriminated against. The outstanding example was that of Dalit leader Bhimrao Ambedkar who led his Mahar community to embrace Buddhism because they were discriminated against by upper caste Hindus. This is also true of over 90 per cent of Indian Muslims whose ancestors being lower caste embraced Islam which gave them equal status. That gives lie to the often-repeated slander that Islam made converts by the sword.

An equally large number of people converted out of gratitude. They were neglected, ignorant and poor. When strangers came to look after them, opened schools and hospitals for them, taught them, healed them and helped them to stand on their own feet to hold their heads high, they felt grateful towards their benefactors. Most of them were Christian missionaries who worked in remote villages and brought hope to the lives of people who were deprived of hope.

To this day, Christian missionaries run the best schools, colleges and hospitals in our country. They are inexpensive and free of corruption. They get converts because of the sense of gratitude they generate. Can this be called forcible conversion? Why don’t the great champions of Hinduism look within their hearts and find out why so many are disenchanted by their pretensions of piety? Let them first set their own houses in order, purge the caste system out of Hindu society and welcome with open arms all those who wish to join them.

No one will then convert from Hinduism to another religion.

I apologize to Hindustan times and Kushant Singh for violating their coyrights without permission

SYSTEMATIC ASSAULT ON CHRISTIANS NOW ALSO IN NEW-DELHI

The fanatical Hindu mobs have struck in the Capital. And the police has kept it under wraps. A good fortnight ago, a mob attacked a handfullof Christian families at the Peeragarhi Relief Camp and demolished the frontal portion of the Christian prayer hall in the camp.

This camp in west Delhi is barely 15 km from Parliament House. To this day, this group of Christians is holding weekly mass with police protection. The families say they are living in constant fear of local miscreants allegedly owing allegiance to ''some religious organisations'' who accuse them of carrying out ''forced conversions'' and threaten to ''take away'' their daughters unless they ''mended their ways.''

The mob had struck on September 16. Despite repeated attempts, the community has not managed to get a FIR registered for what they call ''vandalism'' and police describe as ''regular land dispute''.

Ezik Malik, the priest-in-charge of the prayer hall says that a day before the actual demolition, he had got a call from an unidentified caller saying that the roof of the hall had collapsed.

''We promptly went to rebuild it when suddenly this mob of 500 reached the place carrying saffron flags and sticks. They started pelting stones that left six people injured. There were anti-Christian slogans and then they demolished part of the hall. Policemen just looked on. On hindsight I realised that they had damaged the roof to create a situation that could later be used as an excuse for unrest.'' He added that despite repeated attempts the local police station refused to lodge a FIR but gave the community protection.

Sister Rani, who was praying inside the hall when the incident happened, says she was attacked by some of the men. ''It's like a never-ending nightmare. There have been no arrests and we are living in constant fear of more attacks.''

Struggling to hold back her tears, a petrified Pyalo Dev said: ''They come everyday since that incident and ask us to leave this area as we do not 'belong' here and we should not be practising Christianity in this area. I am scared about my teenaged daughter. All the women from our community who go out to work are followed. It is a nerve-wracking situation and I do not know how much more of this I can take.''

I am sorry for violating the copyright of Times of India.

INDIAN ROMANCE VIII

Slapping and Beating

According to the newest National Family Health Survey – III interviewing 125,000 women in 28 of the Indian States in the period of 2005-2006 find out that , 41 % of all the interviewed women justified wife- beating if it was because they showed disrespect towards their in-laws while 35 % agreed with being brutally assaulted by their husbands if they neglected the households or their children.
Almost in all states the victims don’t feel victimized, both in the case of dowry or spousal violence. They feel being beating up by the husband is all right.
Bihar was found the worst state with abuse rates as high as 59%. Bihar was followed by Rajasthan 46,3 %. Etc
Most of the women assaulted by their husbands were less than 2 years in the marriage. Slapping was the most common act of physical violence by husbands. More than 35 % in general said their husbands slapped them, while 15 % said their husbands pulled their hair or twisted their arm. And now very amazing at least for me: Buddhist woman reported the highest level of violence (41%). Followed by Muslim and Hindu woman with 34-35 %. Women of the Jain community reported the lowest rate of violence (13%)

The cartoon above is from Ann Telnaes, Ann Telnaes Womens eNews Cartoons, http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/bysubject/womensrights/byartist.php?id=70&p=3