Indian Muslims are also Hindus…

Before we get into this provocative debate, we need to define a Hindu and Hinduism. When some one in America asked me if I was a Hindu, my answer was “Since I am definitely not a Muslim or a Christian, I must be a Hindu”. This was a question asked by a black girl in my class in 1982. She was in the process of converting to Islam. My detailed answer to her question made her rethink her decision but I did not pursue the topic and Ann Vivian converted to Islam within a few months. Akbar defined Hinduism as a nationality whereas Gandhi described it as a philosophy. It was Pandit Nehru who inadvertently divided the Indian Civilization into Hindu-Muslim-Sikh and Christian religions. Nobody since has challenged his misguided interpretation!

What is Hinduism? Is it a nationality, a philosophy or a religion? If Hinduism is a religion then what exactly is their faith? Who do they pray to, what is acceptable and what is prohibited in Hinduism? Who sets the rule for Hindus? Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh are considered to be the ‘Trimurti’ of Hinduism but do people in South identify with them the way people in North do? Arya Samajis do not pray to any deity instead they perform ‘Havans’. Does it mean they are not Hindus? People in West Bengal worship Durga and Kali and many other deities, are they not the real Hindus? Guru Nanak was a Hindu Khatri, do his followers stop being Hindus? Sindhis pray to ‘Jhulelal’, are they not Hindu enough? Marathis pray to Ganapati and Shiva is the god for people in Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand. Who is a genuine Hindu and why?

Sixty percent of the population in India does not really pray regularly. Muslims by and large do perform Namaz every day but celebrate all Hindu festivals with equal aplomb. They are gainfully employed during the so called Hindu ceremonies. Christians do not attend church every day but again celebrate all Indian celebrations, Diwali as well as Christmas. Sikhs are even less distinguishable. It is only the die-hard zealots who are eager to separate each other and make hateful and hurtful comments. What Varun Gandhi said was deplorable so were the comments from Syed Ali Geelani or Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Anybody making any excuses for anyone of these bigots is neither a Hindu nor an Indian. We the people need to purge all of them now!

“Saare Jahan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara…”

“…Hum Bulbulen Hain Us Ki Vuh Gulistan Hamara”. This couplet was penned by a young Muhammad Iqbal in 1904. He turned a traitor in 1910 and renounced his earlier sentiment. Muhammad Iqbal was one of the founding fathers of Pakistan. Hundred and four years later, young Muslims are turning traitors and are gunning for their ‘Hindustan’! India or Hindustan is the only country in the world where young Muslims have earned world-wide fame for themselves, their families and their country. No other country on the face of this earth has given so much to Muslims as India has. Despite such opportunities Muslims have turned against their own ‘Mother India’.

Certain sections of the Muslim population on the Indian sub-continent have long believed that they would one day out-number Hindus in their own motherland. The simple question is how? The next question is why? Is this religious fanaticism or civilizational hang-over? Whatever the case might be, the fact of the matter is that for every single Hindu killed in the world, there are 100 Muslims killed around the world. The Muslim fanatics should do their math! In the meantime Hindus and moderate Muslims are getting educated, raising their families and improving their standards of living. How come no other country has produced a Muslim Azim Premji and Wipro?

Note my concern voiced on September 15, 2008

Bajrang Dal must be banned immediately

Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Shiv Sena are all criminal organizations and must be banned without any delay. At the same time, the Central Government must also ban the Indian Mujahideen (IM), Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and All Parties Hurriyat Conference. These are all anti-national outfits and do not represent either Hindus or Muslims on the main street. I am personally a ‘Hindu Hardliner’ and I take pride in India. My family has spent blood and treasure for the last 150 years for the freedom of India when these so-called Hindus were nowhere to be seen. Once we kicked the British out of the country, the phony Hindus come out on the streets. I am no pseudo-secularist but I take pride in our diversity. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and all the minorities are our own blood. So what if they follow a different god, Don’t we all? Stop this ‘Hindutva’ garbage!

Bal Thackeray – An Interview @ Aajtak – Part-1

Bal Thackeray – An Interview @ Aajtak – Part-2

Bal Thackeray – An Interview @ Aajtak – Part-3

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was established in 1929. It is the central governing body for cricket in India. Technically, it is a private club and is not required to make it’s finances public. BCCI generally uses government-owned stadiums across the country at a nominal annual rent. Central Government’s minister for agriculture, Sharad Powar, is the current President of the board. Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of Indian Premier League, is the vice president of BCCI. Niranjan Rasiklal Shah, a former opening batsman from Saurashtra, is the secretary of the cricket board. The BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world.

Cricket was introduced in India by the British in 1720s. The first cricket match in India was played between two teams of visiting sailors at a seaport in Kutch in 1725. The first Indians to play the game of cricket in India were the minority community of Parsis in Bombay. They founded the Orient Cricket Club in 1848, the first non-British cricket club in Bombay, India. In 1892, an annual cricket match was played between Parsis and the Europeans. Hindus entered the fray in 1907, what came to be known as a triangular cricket tournament. Muslims joined the game in 1912 in the Bombay Quadrangular. The four Palwankar brothers were the biggest Indian cricket stars.