I also intend to bring in Doris Lessing's "The Four Gated City", the final volume of her Children of Violence series, where Martha goes on an inner exploration and meets the "Hater"
Funny how I get affected by words of hate when it is directed against any other person but am cool when it is against me. How I am affected by hateful words even when I know that it is fake.
Finally I intend to take on the Indian Hate Industry.
From 1984 (p15 Penguin edition) describing two minute hate :
The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current,turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.Then follows an interesting observation
And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blow lamp...
..It was even possible at moments to switch one's hatred this way or that by a voluntary act.From The Four Gated City page 554
For some time now Martha was stuck. What was happening was something like this. She would discover herself uttering slogan-like phrases, or feeling emotions, which were the opposite of what she,the sane and rational Martha believed. For instance, she would find herself using the language of anti-semitism, first the sly subtle approaches to anti-semitism,which then worsened, so that for a few hours she was sounding like Goebbels. In a panic she floundered about in a total loss of her own personality. For she would retrieve from her own depths a phrase or an idea which embodied what she thought,but it would at once be swallowed by its shadow. This plunged her into a violent sense of fright and shame.Then she saw this was more like an embarrassment, almost a social embarrassment, as if she were being caught out in a social gaffe, which she was afraid of people discovering. She became ashamed (really ashamed) of her own triviality. Before this could be understood, and worked through, she was switched off into a hatred against black people. Then, fast, she watched herself using the languages and emotions of hatred of black people for white people, and of white people for black; of Germans and of Jews, and of Arabs and of the English -etc. etc. Until her chattering mind and the 'television set' was like a hate programme arranged for the pleasure of some international lunatic.
Why is it that it takes me so long for me to understand something so perfecctly obvious? I'm so stupid. Of course : I am switched in to Hating, which is the underside of all this lovely liberalism. But just because we are all such lovely liberals it doesnt mean . . . Why I don't . . . it's because I keep forgetting I can't say, reasonable, civilized, etc. etc. Thinking that I am. I am what the human race is. I am 'The Germans are the mirror and catalyst of Europe' and also : 'Dirty Hun, Filthy Nazi'.
Oh God, I'm so tired. How many volts all the time?
Shrieking self-pity and hysteria.
Is this what all those books call 'the pairs of opposites'?
Love, Hate, black, white, good, bad, man, woman.8th June
I do not have to laboriously type out everything. e book is available The Four Gated City .
13th Sept.
22/D-68
SEP 10, 2012
04:09 PM
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The commentary is cogent and well-argued but unfortunately biased. It is obvious that attempting to somehow, anyhow justify the ongoing travails of Assam as "Muslims vs. Bad Guys" will find few takers (or many takers, depending on your viewpoint).
In a previous post I had compared the columnist to Arundhati Roy. I now apologise as Ms.Saikia is certainly less verbose and writes far better English. I do wonder whether Ms.Saikia would be able to extend Ms.Roy's "Dongria Kondh tribals vs. Bad Guys" argument of the Niyamgiri agitation to the present scenario vis-a-vis tribal communities in Assam.
The fact that the immigrants today (let us avoid the word "illegal" which raises Ms.Saikia's hackles) are Muslims is because the East Pakistani Hindus were expelled by Yahya Khan and Tikka Khan back in 1970-71. That itself proves that they were seeking asylum from almost certain annihilation. India's gesture in opening her arms to these people was motivated by humanism, inspite of the tremendous economic cost. Why they refused, in the main, to return to the newly created Bangladesh is perhaps a question best left unasked.
If today Bangladesh has a higher standard of living than India, it does beg the question why Bangladeshis are motivated to journey across the border to a presumably hostile environment. Do we really have mountains of milk and butter here in India? Can we afford the luxury of inorganic population growth? And finally, what exactly does Indian civil society feel about the protection of tribal rights?
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23/D-72
SEP 10, 2012
04:55 PM
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PEOPLE from ASSAM can NOT buy land and live in MIZORAM, NAGALAND, MANIPUR, MEGHALAYA & ARUNACHAL PRADESH although all these states were part of ASSAM from 1947 till they were made separate states. Add J&K also to that list. But people from all these SIX states can buy land and live in ASSAM. ---------------------------- YASMIN "MOHTRAMA" now says that even BANGLADESHIS have legitimate right to buy/ FORCIBLY OCCUPY LAND in ASSAM and live there. Why this desparity MOHTRAMA??? Will the PSEUDO- SECULARIST make a law that allows all Indians to live in any part of India from J&K to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat before advocating FREE ACCESS to BANGLADESHIS into ASSAM.
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30/D-14
SEP 11, 2012
07:39 AM
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"The fact that the immigrants today (let us avoid the word "illegal" which raises Ms.Saikia's hackles) are Muslims is because the East Pakistani Hindus were expelled by Yahya Khan and Tikka Khan back in 1970-71. " Gaurab Banerjee
No, it is because the Hindus of Bangladesh were exterminated by the Pakistani army in 1971. Here is the testimony of Colonel Nadir Ali who was in the Pakistani army and fought in East Pakistan in 1971:
http://www.viewpointonline.net/a-khaki-dissident-on-1971.html
"..My first action was in mid April 1971. “It is Mujib-ur-Rahman’s home district. It is a hard area. Kill as many bastards as you can and make sure there is no Hindu left alive,” I was ordered.
“Sir, I do not kill unarmed civilians who do not fire at me,” I replied.
“Kill the Hindus. It is an order for everyone. Don’t show me your commando finesse!”.
....
An order was given to kill the Hindus. I received the same order many times and was reminded of it . The West Pakistani soldiery considered that Kosher. The Hamood Ur Rehman Commission Report mentions this order. Of the ninety-three lakh (9.3 million) refugees in India, ninety lakh were Hindus ..."
THE WEST PAKISTANI SOLDIERY CONSIDERED IT KOSHER TO MURDER ALL THE HINDUS.
Why is this so difficult for us stupid Hindus to comprehend? This is not some Sanghi or RSS type - this is a Pakistani colonel writing for a Pakistani blog.
Kill 1000 Muslims in Gujarat and 10 years later, Muslims and sickulars cannot stop talking about "genocide".
Kill millions of Hindus in Pakistan and forcibly convert the rest, and we Hindus look away and pretend not to know what happened there. As the British said, the Hindoo has a sense of the past but no sense of history.
Take a good look at what is happening in Pakistan to the last remaining Hindus there. That is what is in store for us in 25 years time if we don't take control of our country.
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38/D-104
SEP 11, 2012
09:29 PM
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What imagery! Haven't come across anything like this outside comrades manuals.
Giving a "decent burial" is not the same as forgetting it. About the remembering of six million jews dead in WWII, all credit to jews for their persistence in keeping alive the memory and for their hunting down Nazis as much as they could. But jews were not the only victims. In poland,for instance, jews formed 3 million out of 6 million poles eliminated. There were many Germans who died opposing Hitler when the rest of the world did not see him as evil. Their memories too are sacred. Similarly in Bangladesh, hindus were not the only victims.
At least something has begun. About the trial being belated, India probably had the oppurtunity to enforce the trial in 1971? My knowledge is vague.
The other place where you come across the figure 99% is in election results in communist countries. That way Islamism shares many features with totalitarianism. Do not mistake muslims with islamists though all islamists are muslims. Communism has fallen, so will islamism. As far as India is concerned (because I feel more responsible for India, because I happen to be an Indian citizen), we are a democracy. As some one said, cure for ills of democracy is more democracy. Indian muslims are coming out against mobilization of fellow muslims as muslims.
In our subcontinent we have experienced partition more than once and bloodshed associated with that. To engage with past and to come to term with it- Germans have a name for that -Vergangenheitsbewältigung- we have to do that. Simple minded labelling will not solve anything. It will only alienate those who could be "agents of change"
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39/D-1
SEP 12, 2012
12:00 AM
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so what if I and 10 lakhs hindu decide to settle in Kashmir. What would we be called? legal resident of J&K and get a voting right?
Dear author think about tribal people who are driven out and being killed in their own land before putting up this kind of argument.
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40/D-73
SEP 12, 2012
04:53 PM
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Look at the gems from a 'professional historian' (they may draw applause from 'eminent' historians) :
"By referring to people who don’t share our religion or language as “illegal”"
They are not refered to as illegal because they don't share our religion or language, but because they are NOT Indians, they are Bangladeshis who have entered India illegally and staying here illegally. (May be this is a deliberate attempt at sidetracking the real issue).
"Even the British did not refer to us, their colonised subjects, as “illegal”;"
If at all, it is the British who must be terms illegal - not Indians.
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41/D-77
SEP 12, 2012
05:40 PM
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@Saroja- You said—“ we are moving towards greater democratization and coming to terms with our pasts? Bangladesh has a better HDI and has role models like Mohd Yunis---
Is that your defence against industrial scale ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh????? Why are you digressing? The point here is Hindus were wiped out of Bangladesh and their population dropped from 40%ish to single digit percentile…..And I gave you 100 other examples from history where native cultures and populations were ethnic cleansed after Islam became the majority religion—and your defence? It all happened because there WAS NO DEMOCRACY!!!!! :)))) Lol..., since there was no democracy millions of Armenians were massacred by Turkic islamists, right?? Since there was no democracy in Egypt Copts are getting exterminated, right??? Look, you may get away with such juvenile arguments in a JNU class room, but not here…..let us see, Hamaz was democratically elected in Gaza trip… and by your logic I assume Palestinian Christians ( or whoever is left of them) must be thriving now!!!! Oh..wait last time I checked there was a huge protest by Palestinian Christians against FORCED CONVERSIONS and Kidnapping of women by Palestinians!!!!!
And you said like communism, islamism too will fall? Really? Communism was a very short lived phenomena, conceptualised by very mortal, secular people and tried by few countries and they failed and communism was buried forever.. but Islamism?? It was born in 7th century and thrives on people’s blind belief in super natural, prophets and word of god…. No one can change it, and Islamism is here to say… thank you very much… you give them democracy; they will elect the most radical islamist to power..… just wait and watch..!
You say----Do not mistake muslims with islamists ----- You have no idea what islam or Islamism is……. Islam IS Islamism, you can’t separate the two…. It is a complete way of life, every activity of human society is predefined and written down, details of every personal act of a human being is written down……. You can’t escape it, there is no way out, it is a one-way ticket, if you come out of it the punishment is…well…...you know the drill! !!!!… that too is written down.. …the notions that like other societies , Islamic societies will also become liberal, enlightened societies if they get exposed to genuine democracy is a myth. There is no empirical evidence to prove your hypothesis, it is only wishful thinking. History tells us otherwise, right from Turkey to Indonesia – the so called Islamic democracies are only getting more radicalised and islamists are coming to power…. You say “ Indian muslims are coming out against mobilization of fellow muslims as muslims.” Totally untrue….Last time I checked Indian Muslims are coming out in support of their arrested jihadi brethren, Every single arrest of a jihadi has been branded as a fake arrest, even the very existence of Islamic terror modules are being denied!!! in fact even the the amar jawan jyothi in Mumbai was destroyed in support of the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants….When Bangladeshis invaded parts of our country, all we saw was their indian co-religionists coming in support of them AGAINST their fellow countrymen (bodos) …….!!!! You say “Simple minded labelling will not solve anything. It will only alienate those who could be "agents of change"— …well…. There are no such agents of change…. They don’t exist,,, even if they do, they are confined to acting movies in Bollywood!!! Good luck,,,(,,though, I really hope you are right!!) |
42/D-119
SEP 12, 2012
09:36 PM
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" The people of INDIA, PAKISTAN & BANGLADESH were all INDIANS till 14 / 15 August 1947 when they opted to be either INDIAN or PAKI. The choice was not an "instant process" and the exchange of population between INDIA & PAKISTAN continued till 1955 and thereafter it stabilised. --------------------------------------------------- So the people who OPTED to live in INDIA became INDIANS & the people who OPTED for PAKISTAN/ BANGLADESH became PAKI/ BANGLADESHI. ------------------------------------------------- Now after F***ING up their countries with ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM, if they want to come back to India, it will OPEN UP A PANDORAS BOX. ---------------------------------------------- The only option that can be allowed is for INDIAN MUSLIMS "UNHAPPY in HINDU DOMINATED INDIA" to migrate to Pakistan/ Bangladesh as these two countries have been "CARVED OUT OF INDIA IN 1947" explicitely for all Indian Muslims who "felt then/ is feeling now/ will feel anythime" , that MUSLIMS CAN NEVER EVER be HAPPY in HINDU dominated India.
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43/D-12
SEP 13, 2012
04:43 AM
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Prasanth,
I am not from JNU and my background is Physics. Whatever is my position, it has been shaped by my living in contemporary India.I am just curious about antipathy towards JNU on part of some people...
Funny that you mention Bollywood. I worked as a volunteer with an NGO in the aftermath of Bombay riots of 1992/3. I remember someone making a remark – “Now the leadership of muslim community rests with Shabana Azmi, Sunil Dutt and Dilip Kumar”. Infact Dilip Kumar was toying with the idea of floating ‘Secular Muslim Front’. Are you aware of “Muslims for Secular Democracy” which was formed about 9 years ago to fight radicalization of Islam in India. http://www.mfsd.org/msddeclaration.htm . Here is a recent article by one of the founding members . http://sabrang.com/cc/archive/2012/July2012/cover.html
Bodos and Assamese muslims were driven out of their homes by armed hooligans of the other. Though the trigger was murder of some by one side and retaliatory murders by the other, tension has been there between the two groups over land use. This has been twisted into hindu muslim confrontation issue . As far as the Azad maidan demonstration and subsequent violence is concerned, it has come in for criticism within muslims also. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/aug/180812-mumbai-Condemn-them.htm
>> you give them democracy; they will elect the most radical islamist to power..
Hitler also came to power through ballot.
Well, Hitler accounted for about 20 million deaths, but Stalin surpassed with over 60 million deaths and Mao beat both of them with over 75 million deaths. Yet we have several communist parties in our country operating in a democratic framework. They have ruled over a long time in Kerala and West Bengal. These states have better HDI compared to most states in India. So democracy, if it can tame communism in India, why can’t you see similar fate for Islamism? I don’t know about communism being short lived, it still is alive in the largest country of the world.
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44/D-19
SEP 13, 2012
08:42 AM
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"Are you aware of “Muslims for Secular Democracy” which was formed about 9 years ago to fight radicalization of Islam in India" Saroja
A few weeks ago, the Mirwaiz of Kashmir compared Pandits to Israeli settlers in the West Bank - apparently Hindus are now illegal immigrants in parts of India. Now that "Muslims for Secular Democracy" has been formed, has this swine been removed from his post and Pandits allowed to return?
Perhaps this is another issue you want to "bury" along with the 3 million Hindus murdered in East Pakistan in 1971.
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45/D-37
SEP 13, 2012
11:38 AM
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Saroja Mami,
[[Are you aware of “Muslims for Secular Democracy” which was formed about 9 years ago to fight radicalization of Islam in India - Saroja]]
This is the first time most of us have heard of such an organization. When an organization doesn't find patronage amongst the very people it is supposed to be supported by, is it any wonder the rest of the world does't know about it?
[[As far as the Azad maidan demonstration and subsequent violence is concerned, it has come in for criticism within muslims also. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2012/aug/180812-mumbai-Condemn-them.htm]]
Wow! And this is supposed to mean what? That Muslims have suddenly renounced the use of violence and wanton destruction? Isolated voices have always existed among Muslims, but they've only served to act as the window-dressing to enable the extremists to do their job. It is a useful counter-point that many Muslims (and non-Muslims like you) throw at people (who accuse Muslims of being violent) to say: "Look, Muslims are condemning this incident, so ordinary Muslims are a peaceful lot and it is a few mischief mongers who did this, so you can't use this to justify painting all Muslims with the same brush and if you do so, you are a communal Hindu."
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46/D-52
SEP 13, 2012
03:15 PM
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@Saroja-
-------Hitler also came to power through ballot.---------
How exactly will that contradict my point?? (that 'democracy' will not stop islamism) It actually supports my argument that democracy has nothing to do with ethnic cleansing of different cultures by islam over the centuries..
---So democracy, if it can tame communism in India, why can’t you see similar fate for Islamism?---
There is no comparison between communism and islamism, the former is a very secular ideology based own rational thoughts (well sort of)... but the latter is pure BELIEF based on 'word of god' WHICH CAN NOT BE CHALLENGED- you try to challenge it and we will have armies of fanatics burning down embassies and murdering ambassodors!! Communism surely changed over the years, it is surely trying to learn from its mistakes- Islamism cant do that, it CAN NOT change, it will not change because it is all written down- and as the last prophet clearly stated "he is the last messenger and koran is the final word of god".......End of story..... anyone triying to change this will be inviting death....Mirza Ghulam Ahmad -founder of Ahmadiya sect - tried to change this in 19th century, and guess what? His followers are being exterminated, from Pakistan to Indonesia even now.....
And communism as Carl Marx defined is dead, yes there are splinter groups in India to US calling themselves communist parties, but it is very unlikely that they will be able to build another soviet union based on Marx's teaching. Indian communists are only communist by namesake (communist parties in a parliamentary democracy??? gwhat an absurdity!!!!)
And finally, cosmetic changes can't fix a product which has very fundamental design problems...... ..................
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47/D-58
SEP 13, 2012
04:40 PM
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Fedup Indian/Alakshyendra/ Prasanth/
I shall reply to you in full later. Meanwhile you can have a look at www.indianexpress.com/news/tilting-at-windmills/629646/0
Prashanth, do you know how many communist parties are there in India? Like religious sects, dividing and multiplying... Communism, fascism, Islamism, hindutva, christian evangelism etc have more in common than otherwise..
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48/D-78
SEP 13, 2012
08:30 PM
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Will YASMIN, ANWAAR, NASER AHEMED, R. SAROJA etc etc please promptly proceed to the GULF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Beharine etc etc and convince the ARAB MUSLIMS that "THERE ARE NO ILLEGAL HUMAN BEINGS"???? --- ELSE SHUT UP. ----------------------------------------------------- The INDIAN MUSLIMS (which include the Pak & Bangla MUSLIMS) are treated as "SCHEDULDED CASTE MUSLIMS" by Arab Muslims even during HAJJ, pushing them to SLUM LIKE AREAS while the ARAB MUSLIMS & WHITE MUSLIMS live in FIVE STAR ROOMS during HAJJ. ------------------- So much for equality in ISLAM.
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49/D-90
SEP 13, 2012
11:40 PM
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Dewry,
>> proceed to the GULF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Beharine etc etc and convince the ARAB MUSLIMS that "THERE ARE NO ILLEGAL HUMAN BEINGS"?
So you want India to be at their level!!! I am not surprised.
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14th Sept.
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15th Sept.
Was it only yesterday that I was down in the dumps? I survived !
Now I can really understand Doris Lessing's The Four Gated City. I don't have the DNA to be a self hater, I think that is why I can not ever be the Hater. Like a fool I will put myself under this blast of hate, but I will counter it, I must. I refuse to be the Hated.
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15th Sept.
Was it only yesterday that I was down in the dumps? I survived !
Now I can really understand Doris Lessing's The Four Gated City. I don't have the DNA to be a self hater, I think that is why I can not ever be the Hater. Like a fool I will put myself under this blast of hate, but I will counter it, I must. I refuse to be the Hated.
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