NY Times India Ink and Breaking India

October 2013
EU Passes "Resolution" on Caste-Based Discrimination! (NYT Article)
Arun shares a link and comments:
Pls see this article in the NY Times:

"

I'm shocked that this has "passed" as a resolution to link casteism (caste discrimination) as a "human rights" violation! This is exactly what Rajiv Malhotra said is happening in Breaking India.

The author Rikke Nohrlind is a leader of a "Dalit Solidarity Network" - a group explained in 'Breaking India'!"

Aditya notes: "Rikke Nohrlind seems to have a misunderstanding of Hinduism when she says: "While in South Asia caste discrimination has its roots in Hindu philosophy and religion and is sanctioned by the religion..."

Maria adds:
"... This topic is specially dangerous because, unless one opposes with base, everybody would be initially with such a "generous" organization which seems to support the helpless. Thanks to our eyes-opener, we can know and let others know what is behind all of this."

Tattva notes:
"It may be pertinent to mention that India Ink at NYT is edited by one Basharat Peer, a Kashmiri Muslim, who has on public forums spouted pro-separatist and anti-India stands. Not too long ago there appeared a placed blog over at NYT India Ink on the Mujaffarnagar riots which sought to reverse the truth of armed Muslims attacking HIndus returning from the Jat Mahapanchayat by claiming it was vice versa. Such audacity.

In general, NYT is hostile to Hindu interests and HInduism. Does no one recall the sorry piece on Ganesha festival or the motivated piece on Narendra Modi?

Make no mistake, this will only get worse unless things change in India..."

(here's a rebuttal to the aforementioned Ganesha article. The Modi article is covered in the 'Digestion' post on Onam earlier this month. The rebuttal to that article is available in this thread).

RMF Summary: Week of May 16 - 22, 2011

May 16

Premendra - Comparing caste in India and Europe
Rajiv Malhotra provides a link: CASTE SYSTEM IN EUROPE (by Priyadarshi)

May 16

Numerous criticisms posted against Outlook review - at their web site Rajiv Malhotra responds to skewed Outlook review of BI: I went through the comments posted at the review site and the majority are direct in criticizing the review and reviewer. Below are a few samples of this:

...

My Comment on the Outlook book review I am sharing a long response I just posted to Gita Ramaswamy's review on Outlook India. If the moderators don't delete it, you will see it as Comment # 47... May 17 Shame on you Gita Ramaswamy and Shame on Outlook! Dear Editor, As an Indian settled in the USA for a few decades I used to look up to the articles from Outlook as a way of keeping up with India. I had also... May 17 Fw: [RISA-L LIST] Fw: Dalit Koenraad Elst posts:   Dear listfolk, Since the Religion In South Asia list is secret, I have deleted the names of the people whom I quote and reply to in the post reproduced below: .. ... From (a famous religious studies profesor): > Not to take sides in this discussion about the acceptability of the term "Dalit," but it should be noted that scholars in India have begun to use "Dalit" as a shorthand for Untouchables/Scheduled Castes of all sorts.< From (another famous religious studies profesor): >The reason I generally opt for "Dalit" rather than "Harijan," is precisely because I feel it has shed a lot of the political connotations it once had.  This is because the "Dalit" has come to be widely used by those who have no affiliation with Ambedkarite politics---for example, it seems to be the preferred term in India's English language media, as well as among scholars.  Like a lot of terms that were originally coined with some political intent (e.g. "gender," "African American") it has gradually shed these connotations as its usage has been mainstreamed.< ... Do read Rajiv Malhotra & Aravindan Neelakandan’s book *Breaking India*, about the machinations behind the Dalitist and Dravidianist discourse. Many of you have applauded Edward’s Said’s thesis on “Orientalism”, promoting distrust of the ulterior motives of Orientalist scholarship. This new book does the same job, only better and more pertinent to our own work. Whereas Said’s work focused on Islamic Studies, dealt with the past and was riddled with factual errors, Malhotra and Neelakandan’s work is thoroughly documented, fully up-to-date and focuses on Indian Studies. It traces the political entanglements of the trend-setting scholarship on India’s ethnic, religious and caste divisions.... May 17 Breaking India started with Gandhi Koenraad Elst, a member of this group, reviewed this book - it says here that Gandhi could have very well been the root cause of Christian incursion into modern day India. That he was partial to its theology is well known,... May 18 Gautam Sen's letter to Outlook Dear Editor, Book reviewers are free to express their opinions and prejudices though a modicum of acknowledgement when they are doing so would be appropriate.... May 18 'Breaking India' - Continuity N. S. Rajaram posts: The notorious USCIRF is being systematically and strategically encouraged by the 'Indian' American Christians... May 19 "Breaking India" book review by Rina Mukerji in d-sector.org The unholy mission is on By Rina Mukherji 18 May 2011 India has been under attack for more than a millennium. The wicked attempts to destroy its civilization and denigrate the beliefs of the natives continue unabated despite the nation achieving political independence from the Europeans after the painful partition. More and more researchers have begun to expose the evil intentions of the west For decades, texts and tomes published in the West have been bombarding us with theories that India is primarily made up of distinct `Aryan' and `Dravidian' racial strains, with the `tribals' and `dalits' comprising the other distinct groups. A lie, oft repeated, often comes to be accepted as the truth. strategy. And there is no dearth of educated Indians who are willing to advance this anti-India agenda in return for little material comforts and recognition.... May 19 Why India is a Nation The author of this article [Sankrant Sanu] also points out lot of points which Rajiv has pointed out in his book. ... May 19 Breaking India has a whole chapter on USCIRF Many folks have been recently circulating emails complaining about USCIRF. These are sporadic, short-lived flareups once in a while on this. Like all emotional... May 19 This thread elicited a lot of responses and has been covered in the previous week's summary. To make a long story short, Outlooks appears to have published a poor quality polemic by Gita Ramaswamy as a "book review", while also rejecting the submission by Vijaya Rajiva, upsetting a lot of BI readers. Outlook rejects Dr. Vijay Rajiva's book review and publishes a nasty http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271815 This is not surprising but unprofessional - what else is new? May 19 In which the question: Who is Gita Ramaswamy appears to be answered, thereby perhaps revealing why her book "review" turned out the way it did. Gita Ramaswamy-Ashoka Fellow - What is ASHOKA-Take a look Ram Sidhaye investigates:  Gita Ramaswamy is Fellow at Ashoka. What is ASHOKA organization? The name Ashoka is deceptive. It is not an Indian organization. Take a look at Leadership Team, Senior Leadership, Board of Directors and Partners. Leadership Team Bill Drayton, C.E.O. and Founder ... May 20 Shri Ram Sidaye Ram Sidaye's research into Gita Ramaswamy's background and association with Ashoka is important. It reinforces chapter 15 in the book Breaking India. ...   May 20 Dr. Shrinivas Tilak's rejoinder to Outlook This has been posted by Shrinivas Tilak on Sulekha. Review of Breaking India by Gita Ramaswamy: a response by Dr Shrinivas Tilak* When I first heard of... May 21

Yankee Hindus Dear friends, I am yet to read ‘Breaking India.”. But I have read ‘Castes of the Mind’ by Prof.Nicholas Dirks of Columbia University, and know about...

RMF Summary: Week of May 9 - 15, 2011

May 12 Princeton Univ. Debate - Video Uploaded http://breakingindia.com/videos?id=118 There are several videos from the event listed in a table of contents at the right. We link to some of the videos below: The 'Breaking India' book launch: The Princeton University Debate with Nehemiah Thompson May 13 Yankee Hindutva Strikes Vijaya Rajiva notes:  This piece ' Yankee Hindutv Strikes' (May 23, 2001, Outlookindia) is not really a review but a trashy polemic against Breaking India and it is by someone called Gita Ramaswamy, possibly one of the new journalists hired by Outlookindia. One wonders what her qualifications are to review this book. It is full of errors and makes no attempt to outline the main arguments of the book... ...  ...I had sent my article/review 'Breaking India: Some Reflections' to Outlookindia, but it was politely rejected, even though I had sent in my academic credentials etc... This thread is continued here. May 14 Fwd: Aryan Invasion Theory Sent by Murali: Director Bal Ram Singh, Ph.D. Phone: 508-999-8588 Fax: 508-999-8451 Date: July 3, 2006 PRESS RELEASE Scientists Collide with Linguists to Assert Indigenous origin of Indian Civilization Comprehensive population genetics data along with archeological and astronomical evidence presented at June 23-25, 2006 conference in Dartmouth, MA, overwhelmingly concluded that Indian civilization and its human population is indigenous. In fact, the original people and culture within the Indian Subcontinent may even be a likely pool for the genetic, linguistic, and cultural origin of the most rest of the world, particularly Europe and Asia. Leading evidences come from population genetics, which were presented by two leading researchers in the field, Dr. V. K. Kashyap, National Institute of Biologicals, India, and Dr. Peter Underhill of Stanford University in California. Their results generally contradict the notion Aryan invasion/migration theory for the origin of Indian civilization. ....  ... Bal Ram Singh, Ph.D. Director, Center for Indic Studies University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 285 Old Westport Road Dartmouth, MA 02747 Phone: 508-999-8588 Fax: 508-999-8451 Email: bsingh@... Internet address: http://www.umassd.edu/indic  May 15 5-min video by ex-KGB man on psychological warfare against nations Sameer writes: If you watch this video, you will understand how pervasive and systematic the process is that the book discusses... May 15 IndiaToday reports on foreign funds fueling religious conversions to Manas reports: Independent churches mushroom across India attracting foreign funds ..

RMF Summary: Week of March 7-14, 2011

March 7

Indian Christian lashes against 'breaking India' activities by Church This long post has 2 items. PART I is a letter by an IndianChristian activist against the Church's politics of the kind that are breakingIndian communities by... March 8 Madurai book club I wish to thank Suri for the superb arrangement for launching the book "Breaking India" in Madurai. This was the major and unique function apart from... Chennai launch featured in Arsha Vidya Newsletter Chennai launch of Breaking India is featured in the February issue of the Arsha Vidya newsletter Comment by Prof Shiva Bajpai (Professor Emeritus at the California State University of Northridge. Co-author of, "A Historical Atlas of South Asia.")  "This is an impressive work based on solid and thorough research on the major theme, Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines. Your treatment of the subject is both scholarly and exhaustive as well as dispassionate. The book is indeed revelatory  because there is no other authentic account of how the global nexus of anti-India agencies and their Indian agents have undermined the unity of a democratic India ... Koenraad Elst, the distinguished scholar comments: Dear listfolk,   >Durgavati was born in Chandella clan of the Rajputs from and she was married in a Raj-Gond family. There is a theory that the Raj-Gonds are descendants of Rajputs who intermarried among Gonds. There is another theory that claims that the Chandellas were derived from the Gonds, the marriage of Durgavati is cited in support of this thesis. < Chandella looks like it is derived from the related tribal ethnonyms Gond/Kond/Kandh. So does, probably, Chandâla. Ptolemy mentions the Kandaloi as an Indian tribe. In Wendy Doniger's Manu Smrti translation, Chandâla is given a literal interpretation, "the 'fierce' untouchables", which may well be how Manu himself understood the term. But that would be folk etymology, overlaid on a purely ethnic term such as Kand/Kandaloi. The name Chandâla is mentioned in the Chandogya Up.,.. March 8 Re: tribe and caste (jati) It is a question of interest as to when and why Untouchability arose. And the question of the relationship of Jati to Varna. In my article 'Gandhiji was right... March 8 Madurai disscusion of the book: March 6. Book Readers' Club at Madurai had arranged for an introductory lecture on 'Breaking India' book at Arvind Eye Hospital auditorium... March 9 US tops Rs 31,000cr-donation list (2006-09) [The book has an appendix on this data and examines the activities of the westernn nexus and Indian recipients. The actual sums are much larger.] SHOCKING! A large portion of this money comes from organizations with vested interests in India, as mentioned in BI (e.g. church-based proselytizing orgs) 31K crores in Rupees at the current (2012) exchange rate is about $6.2 Billion using 2009 exchange rate of 37Rs/$, this comes out to about $8.3 Billion. Of this, about 1/3 or about $2Billion comes from the US alone. March 9 Ashani Sanket Another example of an organization meddling in internal Indian affairs. so much for sovereignty. (original news link was broken. I've googled and updated with live link) March 9 No quota benefits after conversion: High Court No quota benefits after conversion... March 9 Re: Tribe and caaste (jati) Dear Dr. Elst, Here is the train of thought: Both tribes and Jati were endogamous, but the Jati was linked to the economic unit of the shreni(guild). Jati... March 10 Re: N.S. Rajaram on BREAKING INDIA by Malhotra and Neelakandan Distinguished scholar N.S. Rajaram notes: The Chicago based NEWSGRAM carried my article on the book Breaking India by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelkandan. It can be found here. March 10 Plight of scavenger dalit communities Vijay Rajiva adds: Below is a relevant account of the position of the Bhangis. You may kindly read the attached pdf on present Dalit (Scavengers). Here's the dostoc link. March 10 N.S. Rajaram's press statement *March 11, 2011* ** Here is an advance copy of the statement being released to the media at 10:00 AM today (March 11). Here is an advance copy of the statement being released to the media at 10:00 AM today (March 11). The book Breaking India will also be presented at the meet. The opinions given below are my own though I have consulted the book. I take full reponsibility [sic] for it.  - N.S. Rajaram March 11, 2011: Statement to the media Meeting on conversions: Summary of Dr Navaratna Rajaram’s presentation: 1.       Christian churches and their affiliated organizations must be seen as multinational socio-political entities that have no spiritual or even religious content. 2.       Their officials like bishops, archbishops, etc are not spiritual leaders but bureaucrats appointed by their masters like the Vatican, Church of England, etc. They can call themselves His Holiness, but they are no more than appointed representatives of foreign multinational corporations.... March 11 Is there a gene that prevent us from falling apart even as we quarrel Link. Just as no Hindi movie can survive without a Comic Relief so no Indian discussion group can survive without some Intellectual Relief...   March 12 Dalit Freedom Network Below is an excerpt from "Breaking India" (pages 220 to 222) pertaining to Dalit Freedom Network (DFN): [BEGIN EXCERPT]: Dalit Freedom Network, based in Colorado, USA, is an example of a West-run organization that professes to champion Indian Dalit emancipation through policy advocacy in the power centers of the USA. March 13 Re; Tribe and caste (jati) N. S. Rajaram comments:  I agree wholeheartedly with Shri Aravindan Neelakandan's view that we should move quickly and resolutely to remove any lingering injustices towards the Dalits. Much has already been done by GOI, individuals, NGOs and the nationalist organisations. More can be done. We have to do it because it is our Dharma, not because the EU or other busy bodies are trying to tell us what is ethical behaviour... March 13 Arya Koenraad Elst comments: The use of Arya cognates in Hittite and Lycian (Anatolian) in the sense of compatriot, fellow citizen is given in standard textbooks of Indo-European linguistics, such as JP Mallory, and in the On-line Etymological Dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/ The same in Iranian is beyond dispute. Iran <= Airyanam Khshathra. In 2006, Tajikistan hosted the UNESCO-sponsored World Aryan Fair, or so, where Aryan in effect meant Iranian,...   Blogger's note (November 2012): The contributions from noted Indian scholars (aside from the authors of 'Breaking India' themselves) like NS Rajaram, Koenraad Elst, Vijay Rajiva, among others, to the initial  RMF debates are outstanding, and establish a certain level of rigor and burden of proof in the discussions apart from not shying away from naming some of the big problems that confront Hindu society in India, i.e. Dalit emancipation, and made a strong case (both based on Hindu texts as well as empirical evidence) for bringing them back into the Hindu fold, if its not too late ....