Re: [Assam] Of Temple Terror - Pakistani-Hindu interview in DC's kinder-garten

[umesh sharma]

Amlan-da,

 

Just what I heard - not that I say it is true. As I said no study has been done about it.  Also, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Don't give that humbug that everything in every society is good and above board exept that when practiced in Hindu faith.

 

The article below from AT raises the issue that animal sacrifice debases humans and stops them rising to higher feelings. The argument given by many I presented - is that those who practice animal killings are more sub human than others. So go ahead and say that from tomorrow onwards you are going to engage in butchery of animals - Kamakhya style --since it would have only spiritually uplifting non violent effect on you. Do you support Kamakhya animal sacrifice or oppose it -- then why don't you do the same to animal sacrifices of other faiths -aren't you a secularist?

 

It is easy to preach from the ivory towers about what is right (or diplomatic) or are you ready to conduct a study on the effect of religious animal sacrifices on human psyche. As a student you need to be objective and believe in the freedom of _expression_ and use of logic.

 

Quotes from the article below -disprove them if you can:

 

"The brutal animal sacrifices that are so shamelessly resorted to in
> the Kamakhya temple tarnishes the fair name of Hinduism. By reducing
> the Goddess into a blood-thirsty deity, they have reduced Hinduism
> into a primitive faith not worth practising. The brutality of the
> animal sacrifice has no doubt killed the finer sensibilities of the
> ones who patronize it. Having stained their hands, they no longer
> remain human."

 

"A place made infamous for the barbaric practice of animal
> sacrifices cannot be the abode of the ever-loving mother Goddess. No
> Goddess would ever thirst for the blood of her own creation. People
> who indulge in such killings have no respect for life and ought to
> be treated with contempt."

 

Pak-Hindu Interview

 

Further, today I had a chance to talk to a Pakistani Hindu woman now in Washington, DC with her family. She cleared many doubts but raised new ones. She works at the day-care center where I was subbing today - on other days I had been subbing becos she was ill.

 

Initially I thought she was a muslim as her name was Westernised Spanish looking. Her repeated references to her family and her mentioning her children's names - made me realize that she might be a Hindu.

 

I further asked her about the situation of Hindus in Pakistan - relating the case of my aunt who ran with her family from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971. I mentioned that my aunt's family members who chose to remain in Bangladesh (due to family property incl factories, cinema halls etc) dress like mulims when they come out of their houses incl the women.

 

She said "ofcourse I too dressed in blanket while coming out of the house. If they see us wearing (she pointed to her forehead - about wearing the 'dot' or bindi ) they throw stones at us."

Further, "not all muslims are bad many are good and help you but those on the street or those who go in the demonstrations are the ones who cause problems."

 

(I then remembered Kashmir's rare images I saw on the Net incl a poster and a photo of 10,000 demonstrators who reportedly were crying that Hindus leave the Valley but leave your daughters behind --ofcourse the millions of Kashmiri Hindus are obliged -now refugees in rest of India )

 

I asked what is the situation in big cities - is this an issue only in rural or small town areas - I had assumed that such problems could only exist in such places.

 

She said, " I am from Karachi!!" -- FYI Karachi is the former capital of Pakistan and its largest city perhaps - a  sea port in Pakistani Gujarat.

 

The I said that my aunt's relatives in Bangladesh are rumoured to have converted to Islam or are not allowed to have Hindu images in their homes.

 

She said, " No -- we do have Hindu temples but when there is religious tensions they destroy our temples like 3-4 years ago the Hanuman temple was torn down and before that the Shiva temple."

 

I said we never hear these news.

 

She said, "they suppress these news."

 

Also, she added "There is a rule that muslims can marry into Hindu families but Hindus cannot marry into Muslim families -unless they convert to Islam. " We were speaking in Hindi/Urdu so translation would be that Muslim youth can marry a Hindu girl and take her into his family but a Hindu household cannot take in a muslim bride.

 

I asked whether it was the law.

 

She said, "No but thats how it is."

 

She added , "Here in Virginia also a muslim girl wanted to marry a Hindu boy and her parents did not like it. One day when they were away the girl asked the boy to meet her at her house. They killed him."

 

My note: ofcourse it could be becos any boy turning up at a girl's house might raise the girl's family's temper.

 

I then told her about the famously banned  Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen who wrote about a Bangladeshi Hindu family in her book "Shame" or "Lajja" --where the Hindu boy wants to marry his muslim girlfriend but her parents want him to convert to Islam first. He refuses and she marries someone else. His sister has to pay the price.  For more check the book --banned in West Bengal also - by secularist, Communist govt of Indian state.

 

Maybe some might find my writing about this interview as anti-secularism.

 

Any comments?

 

Umesh

 

 

 

Amlan Saha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

you reach new depths with every email of yours. i have never read
anything more illogical and rubbish than that!




Amlan Saha
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy / Harvard Law School
160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Tel: +1 857 928 6824


-------- Original Message --------
From: umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, ASSAMNET
Subject: Re:[Assam] Of Temple Terror - Sentinel letter - ritual
killings of animals
Date: Monday, April 03, 2006 8:20:07 PM

> Let me tell you about the grapewine about Muslims who are engaged in
> butchery business and eat meat in North India -- vis a vis vegetarian ,
> non violent Hindus etc.
>
> It is believed by many that these Muslims are always ready to fight
> because of two things - or three . One is that they have a festival of
> Muharram -- where they inflict pain upon themselves - making themselves
> impervious to pain . Second, they eat meat and kill the animal slowly by
> bleeding it to death -- so are not afraid to see blood (whereas a Hindu
> would faint upon seeing blood spilt) . Third they are adept as using
> knives of various kinds (to butcher these animals - in their shops or
> during Bakr-Eid fest etc) and thus do not flinch while using it.
>
> In riots - they say that Hindus attack by setting things on fire - given
> their penchent to fireworks etc --during Diwali and burning of Holika on
> Holi etc and lamps for worship etc.
>
> On the other hand muslims attack with the sword.
>
> Noone has done a study about it - but just what I heard.
>
> Any info about other faiths and any coments?
>
> Umesh
>
> */Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/* wrote:
>
> "The brutal animal sacrifices that are so shamelessly resorted to in
> the Kamakhya temple tarnishes the fair name of Hinduism." - Prakash
> Gogoi
>
> I agree. The sadder part is that such a practice is considered
> 'normal' in the 21st century Assam (and other parts of India).
> **
> *Of Temple Terror*
> The recent controversies of varied hues at the Kamakhya Temple is a
> clear manifestation of the rot that has afflicted our religious
> institutions. Visitors to the holy shrine of Kamakhya seldom come
> back with happy memories. No visitor can claim to have escaped the
> tricks of the peddlers of faith — the pandas; sort of terror! Far
> from preaching religiosity, these pandas are a personification of
> greed and ugliness. Blinded by lust for money, they have utter
> disregard for decency and decorum. Fleecing money from unsuspecting
> visitors is topmost on their agenda, and they do not hesitate to do
> it by any or every means. Sadly, this is how it has been for
> decades, and this is how it will continue to be if the society
> remains silent.
> How long will the society remain silent? These pandas seem to have
> become a burden to the society. In the name of religion, they are
> blatantly patronizing all kinds of shady and nefarious activities.
> The brutal animal sacrifices that are so shamelessly resorted to in
> the Kamakhya temple tarnishes the fair name of Hinduism. By reducing
> the Goddess into a blood-thirsty deity, they have reduced Hinduism
> into a primitive faith not worth practising. The brutality of the
> animal sacrifice has no doubt killed the finer sensibilities of the
> ones who patronize it. Having stained their hands, they no longer
> remain human. The crucial question is: why is the society still
> silent? Is it because it is not that easy to fight this sort of a
> mafia? The economics of these sacrifices entails huge profits, which
> is shared by the members of the panda club. Their power is such that
> even the law-enforcing agencies prefer to remain silent, lest the
> 'religious' sensibilities should be offended. Are perverted
> religious sensibilities above morality?
> It does not need much common sense to understand why the BSF jawans
> reacted the way they did some time back. Why should they or anybody
> else put up with the heckling of these pandas who are no more
> religious entities? It is perfectly within the rights of any citizen
> to act in self-defence. Day in and day out, visitors to this holy
> shrine suffer at the hands of the ruthless pandas. Enough is enough.
> It is time the Kamakhya shrine was liberated from the clutches of
> these people. The administration of the temple ought to be given to
> a trust, much on lines of the Vaishnav Devi Temple Trust.
> Accountability and transparency ought to be the hallmark of the
> trust. People have the right to know what happens to their money and
> how well the holy shrine is kept.
> It is everybody's responsibility to restore the glory of Goddess
> Kamakhya. A place made infamous for the barbaric practice of animal
> sacrifices cannot be the abode of the ever-loving mother Goddess. No
> Goddess would ever thirst for the blood of her own creation. People
> who indulge in such killings have no respect for life and ought to
> be treated with contempt.
> Prakash Gogoi,
> JP Nagar, Dibrugarh.
> _______________________________________________
> assam mailing list
> assam@assamnet.org
> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>
>
>
>
> Umesh Sharma
> 5121 Lackawanna ST
> College Park, MD 20740
>
> 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]
>
> Ed.M. - International Education Policy
> Harvard Graduate School of Education,
> Harvard University,
> Class of 2005
>
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Umesh Sharma
5121 Lackawanna ST
College Park, MD 20740

1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

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