Ayodhya Again
July 5, 2005 8:59 AM Subscribe
Once again, Ayodhya seems to be the subject of activity. This time, no group has taken responsibility for the attack, and the motivation and religion of the attackers is unclear. What is clear? That L.K. Advani is back in action.
When I was staying in Delhi, I had a joke baby bib from the States taped to my wall that said "future president" on it, and I still remember the incredulous looks a friend gave it, followed by the admonition that "only in America would anyone want their child to grow up to be President".
That being said, Advani and his gang make me want to vomit. This story seems to be still developing, but I'm damn sure that Advani is dancing right now looking forward to another justiceforhindufaithbybangingdrumsinfrontofmosques yatra.
posted by goodglovin77 at 9:40 AM on July 5, 2005
That being said, Advani and his gang make me want to vomit. This story seems to be still developing, but I'm damn sure that Advani is dancing right now looking forward to another justiceforhindufaithbybangingdrumsinfrontofmosques yatra.
posted by goodglovin77 at 9:40 AM on July 5, 2005
From the Wiki link: Ayodhya literally means not to be warred against.
Ironic eh? So is this the ancient Sanskrit or Parsi equivalent to "Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin' to fuck with?"
Thanks for the links though, not to detract here, this is a region that is sadly ignored by most Western media.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:43 AM on July 5, 2005
Ironic eh? So is this the ancient Sanskrit or Parsi equivalent to "Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin' to fuck with?"
Thanks for the links though, not to detract here, this is a region that is sadly ignored by most Western media.
posted by Pollomacho at 9:43 AM on July 5, 2005
Woo! Let's have another Gujurat train massacre!
Goddamnit, Advani. Just stop your shit. Seriously.
(Pollomacho, the problem here is that there are two religions, and they both seem to be full of pricks. I want the Jains back.)
Didn't Sonia get a drubbing last week in MH? Has anyone kept enough tabs on her (and her Gujurati minister) to know what might happen next?
posted by metaculpa at 10:40 AM on July 5, 2005
Goddamnit, Advani. Just stop your shit. Seriously.
(Pollomacho, the problem here is that there are two religions, and they both seem to be full of pricks. I want the Jains back.)
Didn't Sonia get a drubbing last week in MH? Has anyone kept enough tabs on her (and her Gujurati minister) to know what might happen next?
posted by metaculpa at 10:40 AM on July 5, 2005
A touch of irony and/or hypocrisy, cut-&-pasted from the Wikipedia article on Advani:
"On June 7, 2005, Advani offered his resignation from his post as BJP President amid controversial comments he is said to have made during a trip to Pakistan. He became the first major Indian political leader to visit Jinnah's mausoleum, on June 4 and he wrote in the visitors' book:
There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man."
I wonder how widely reported these remarks were in the Pakistani media. It would have been really something if he'd said this out loud, and moreso if he'd meant it. I'd be really impressed of any of it turned out to be true.
Anyway: the Wikipedia article on Jinnah , to oppose to Advani.
posted by davy at 10:56 AM on July 5, 2005
"On June 7, 2005, Advani offered his resignation from his post as BJP President amid controversial comments he is said to have made during a trip to Pakistan. He became the first major Indian political leader to visit Jinnah's mausoleum, on June 4 and he wrote in the visitors' book:
There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man."
I wonder how widely reported these remarks were in the Pakistani media. It would have been really something if he'd said this out loud, and moreso if he'd meant it. I'd be really impressed of any of it turned out to be true.
Anyway: the Wikipedia article on Jinnah , to oppose to Advani.
posted by davy at 10:56 AM on July 5, 2005
For the interested:
The text of Jinna's speech that Advani referred to.
posted by davy at 11:10 AM on July 5, 2005
The text of Jinna's speech that Advani referred to.
posted by davy at 11:10 AM on July 5, 2005
Advani's apparent faux-pas, however, seems to be neatly corrected by the golden oppurtunity, and I can only assume he'll want a piece of this.
Now, if the VHP actually cared about the functioning of the state, wouldn't they take this oppurtunity to congratulate the military on their relative competence?
And why does a bandh, or strike, make any sense whatsoever? Are they going to convince the terrorists to stop terrorising by not working? Are they terrorists going to send out the pinkertons or, and this gets closer to the heart, I think, make a lathi charge?
Would the VHP be calling for a bandh if the BJP were in power?
I think it's time that Ayodhya put an end to its sufferings and, like Sita, proved it's virtue by letting mom take it back into the earth...
On Preview: well, the Jains haven't gone anywhere, and here's my one of my favorite little stories, "For Necessary Action", from that master of bile, Saadat Hasan Manto:
When the attack came, some members of the minority community in the neighborhood were killed, while the survivors ran off. One man and his wife, however, hid themselves in the basement of their house.
For two nights they were cooped up there, expecting to be discovered at any moment.
Two more nights went by and the fear of death began to recede, replaced by pangs of hunger.
Four more nights passed, but by now they had reached a point where they did not really care whether they lived or died. They came out of their hideout.
In a voice which could be barely heard, the man said to the new occupants of his house, 'We give ourselves up. Please kill us.'
'Our religion forbids us to kill,' they answered.
They belonged to the Jain faith which enjoins reverence for all forms of life.
After mutual consultations, the fugitive couple was handed over to the non-Jain residents of a neighbouring locality 'for necessary action'.
Sorry, this stuff makes me bitter. A mottled dawn, indeed.
I recall in Butter Chicken in Ludhiana an exchange between the author and some Jains in Gujarat generally indicating Jain support for Hindutva. Anyone care to elaborate on this one? I don't want to be too mean for the Jains, because their philosophy really is rocking--probably too rocking for them to be much of a bigger religion than they are already.
posted by goodglovin77 at 12:09 PM on July 5, 2005
Now, if the VHP actually cared about the functioning of the state, wouldn't they take this oppurtunity to congratulate the military on their relative competence?
And why does a bandh, or strike, make any sense whatsoever? Are they going to convince the terrorists to stop terrorising by not working? Are they terrorists going to send out the pinkertons or, and this gets closer to the heart, I think, make a lathi charge?
Would the VHP be calling for a bandh if the BJP were in power?
I think it's time that Ayodhya put an end to its sufferings and, like Sita, proved it's virtue by letting mom take it back into the earth...
On Preview: well, the Jains haven't gone anywhere, and here's my one of my favorite little stories, "For Necessary Action", from that master of bile, Saadat Hasan Manto:
When the attack came, some members of the minority community in the neighborhood were killed, while the survivors ran off. One man and his wife, however, hid themselves in the basement of their house.
For two nights they were cooped up there, expecting to be discovered at any moment.
Two more nights went by and the fear of death began to recede, replaced by pangs of hunger.
Four more nights passed, but by now they had reached a point where they did not really care whether they lived or died. They came out of their hideout.
In a voice which could be barely heard, the man said to the new occupants of his house, 'We give ourselves up. Please kill us.'
'Our religion forbids us to kill,' they answered.
They belonged to the Jain faith which enjoins reverence for all forms of life.
After mutual consultations, the fugitive couple was handed over to the non-Jain residents of a neighbouring locality 'for necessary action'.
Sorry, this stuff makes me bitter. A mottled dawn, indeed.
I recall in Butter Chicken in Ludhiana an exchange between the author and some Jains in Gujarat generally indicating Jain support for Hindutva. Anyone care to elaborate on this one? I don't want to be too mean for the Jains, because their philosophy really is rocking--probably too rocking for them to be much of a bigger religion than they are already.
posted by goodglovin77 at 12:09 PM on July 5, 2005
their philosophy really is rocking--probably too rocking for them to be much of a bigger religion than they are already.
Bingo!
posted by Pollomacho at 1:28 PM on July 5, 2005
Bingo!
posted by Pollomacho at 1:28 PM on July 5, 2005
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For an interesting, if unsurprising look, for the cynic, there's the memoir Open Secrets by Maloy Krishna Dhar, former Joint Director of (India's) Intelligence Bureau, which has one exposé after another.
posted by daksya at 9:19 AM on July 5, 2005