The Good Word

THE GOOD WORD Dec 6, 2021 - Week 51

Volume 7S-30| Pages 2

Modi, Putin meet boosts Indo-Russia defence ties, as ministers

engage in 2+2 format and send signals to the US and China

Bharat First

Rajnath Singh, sharpened

the focus on China when

he said, ‘The extra-ordinary

militarization and

expansion of armaments in

our neighbourhood and the

completely unprovoked

aggression on our northern

border since early summer

2020,’ were challenges that

had to be met.

Mr Putin’s visit to India

is only his second physical

visit abroad since the

advent of COVID-19. It

comes a day before a

virtual meeting with the US

president Biden, in which

the US may try to isolate

Russia for its military build

up along the Ukraine

border. Experts believe the

US may exempt India from

sanctions for the purchase

of the Russian S-400

systems and also be lenient

on other deals as they aim

to contain an expansionist

China. The US has itself

initiated a parallel treaty in

the AUKUS nuclear

submarine deal with

Australia and the UK

despite an existing QUAD

alliance with India.

At: MEA, MSN, Jagran, JagranJosh, TOI

Visit IndiaWiki.org

Dec 6, A military court in

Myanmar has found the

76 year old Aung San Suu

Kyi guilty of inciting

people against the ruling

Junta and also breaking

Covid restrictions, and

sentenced her to two

year’s in prison at an

undisclosed location. The

verdict drew

condemnation from the

US, United Nations,

European Union and

others, who described it

as politically motivated.

Suu Kyi, was deposed in

a coup in February. Her

National League for

Democracy party won a

thumping victory in last

year’s election but the

military refused to

accept the result. She

has already served 15

years in detention

campaigning against the

military and could be

held by the Junta for the

rest of her life if found

guilty on all charges.

Over 10,600 people to

have been arrested by

the Junta since February,

as it has sought to crush

any form of opposition.

At least 1,303 have been

killed. At: TheGuardian

At: MSN, Federal

World Mountain Day, Dec 11 Mount Kailash – image courtesy GuestReservation; World Anti Corruption Day – Dec 9 – image courtesy - AfricaRedemptorists

Biden, Putin to talk

to diffuse tension

in Ukraine

Dec 4, US president Joe

Biden and Russia's

Vladimir Putin will hold

a video call on Tuesday,

amid mounting tensions

over Ukraine. US says it

has evidence that

Russia had made plans

for a ‘large scale’ attack

on Ukraine but, that it

was unclear if Mr Putin

had made a final

decision to invade.

Ukraine says Russia has

deployed armoured

vehicles, electronic

warfare systems and

94,000 troops along

their shared border.

Russia accuses Ukraine

of placing 125,000

troops at the border

too. While Ukraine is

not a NATO member, it

has close ties with the

bloc and has received

Western weapons

including US Javelin

anti-tank missiles. The

US and its allies have

discussed imposing

sanctions on Russia if it

takes aggressive action.

At: BBC

Dec 4, A mob in

Pakistan’s Punjab

province beat a Sri

Lankan man to death

and burnt his body over

allegations of

blasphemy. Video clips

shared on social media

showed a mob, allegedly

supporters of an Islamic

party, beating Priyantha

Kumara, a manager at a

sports equipment

factory in Sialkot city,

and setting his body

ablaze, even as some

took selfies with the

burning corpse in the

background. The

allegation was that Mr

Kumara tore a poster of

the hardline Tehreek-e-

Labbaik Pakistan in

which Quranic verses

were inscribed and

threw it in the dustbin.

This year alone more

than a dozen people

have been charged

under the blasphemy

law and attempts were

made to kill the majority

of them. The law is used

by Islamist extremists to

target religious

minorities like the

Hindus, Christians etc.

At: ChristianPost

Pakistan mob

burns Sri Lankan

for blasphemy

Dec 7, at the Parliament

on Monday, Union home

minister Amit Shah

expressed regret over

the killing of 14 civilians

in Nagaland by security

forces. An SIT has been

constituted to probe the

incident which occurred

on Saturday and has

been directed to

complete investigation

within a month.

Shah said Indian Army

had received intelligence

about movement of the

insurgents near Tiru

village of Mon district. A

team of 21st Para

commandos laid an

ambush on the evening

of Dec 4. A vehicle

approached the location

and it was signaled to

stop. However, the

vehicle tried to flee,

following which the

forces fired upon it killing

of 6 out of 8 persons

travelling in it. As it was a

case of mistaken identity

the army took the

remaining two to a

medical facility for

treatment. At: HT

Nov 26, speaking at a

Republic TV summit,

minister for road,

transport & highways,

Nitin Gadkari gave a

stirring endorsement

to electric vehicles and

deemed diesel a

polluting fuel. In a big

announcement, he

revealed that by

Wednesday, he would

sign an order that

every petrol engine of

a new 2, 3 or 4 wheeler

sold in India will be a

flex engine. Flex

engines are in use in

Brazil, USA and Canada.

They allow users to run

on 100% petrol or

100% bioethanol.

With ethanol costing

₹62 per litre and petrol

₹100 per litre there will

be tremendous savings

and reduced pollution.

The country’s fuel and

oil import bill of ₹8 lac

crore could go down by

half, Mr Gadkari said.

Bioethanol will be

produced from

sugarcane juice,

molasses, corn, rice,

wheat and foodgrains.

At: Republic

Myanmar Junta court

detains Aung San Suu

Kyi for 2 years

extended to cover the

next decade, ie from

2021 to 2031. In all 28

agreements, 9 inter-

government and the

rest between business

entities, were signed.

In 2018, India had

struck a deal to procure

$4.5 billion worth of

Russian S-400 air

defence missile

systems. About 70 % of

India’s defence

equipment comes from

Russia.

The two heads of states

discussed opportunities

for strategic

cooperation in far

east Russia and common

concerns on terrorism

and radicalism from

Afghanistan.

President Putin said

Russia had promoted the

military-technical

cooperation with India,

‘like with no other

partner of ours’. Prime

minister Modi brought

up the enduring nature

of the Indo-Russian

relationship, remarking

it had remained steady

over decades despite a

number of fundamental

changes in the global

geopolitical scenario.

Defence minister

Dec 6, Russian president

Vladimir Putin met

prime minister Narendra

Modi in New Delhi at the

21st Indo-Russian Annual

Summit to boost

strategic ties. The

defense and foreign

ministers of the two

nations also met in a 2+2

format.

The leaders signed a

defence deal for the

import and indigenous

manufacture in Amethi,

India, of 6 lac Russian

AK-203 rifles, worth

₹5,100 crores. The

military-technical

cooperation pact was

On Babri demolition anniversary,

Mathura remains tense

Admiral R Hari Kumar takes over as

new Navy chief

Section 144 was

imposed in Mathura

following a declaration

by four right wing

groups on Nov 16, that

they plan to install an

idol of Lord Krishna at

the location of his

birthplace within the

Shahi Eidgah on Dec 6.

The date coincided the

day the Babri structure

was demolished in

Ayodhya in 1992. The

groups later withdrew

their call. However,

Mathura remained

tense and security

heightened with about

3,000 personnel

deployed at the Eidgah

complex on Dec 6.

A few days back Uttar

Pradesh deputy chief

minister Mr Maurya

had pitched for a grand

temple at Sri Krishna

Janmabhoomi in

Mathura,

In January 1670, fanatic

Mughal ruler Aurangzeb

had plundered Mathura.

He had destroyed the

famous Keshava Rai

temple and built a

mosque there. According

to the legends, this was

the birthplace of Lord

Krishna.

Last year devotees filed

lawsuits before Mathura

civil court on behalf of

Bhagwan Shri Krishna

Virajman to seek

removal of the Shahi

Eidgah mosque situated

adjacent to the temple

complex. The suit

claimed ownership of the

entire 13.37 acres of land

believed to be the

birthplace of Lord Sri

Krishna.

Image: OpIndia, MSN, TheWire

Admiral R Hari Kumar (right) on Tuesday took over as India’s new Navy

chief, succeeding Admiral Karambir Singh. Kumar is an alumnus of the

National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla

Hindus

Muslim

Christian

Sikhs

Muslim Hindu Christian Buddhist Sikh Jain

States by Majority

Faith

Source: Pew

Research

Total Fertility Rates by Faith

1992-2015

Nov 25, the fifth

National Family Health

Survey (NFHS) reported

that India’s total

fertility rate (TFR), the

number of children a

woman will have over

her lifetime, is 2 and

below population

replacement level for

the first time since the

NFHS began in 1992.

While NFHS does not

report data by religion,

a 2015 Pew Research

report can help

extrapolate findings.

Between 1951 and

2011, the Hindu

population fell from

84% to about 80%,

while the Muslim

population grew from

about 10% to 14%.

The Muslim TFR in

2015 was the highest

amongst faiths at 2.6.

Now with HFHS TFR at

2, it is likely that the

Hindu population

growth has fallen

below replacement

level while Muslim

numbers continue to

grow.At: TFIPost, PewResearch

Courtesy: Republic

Home minister

Amit Shah regrets

Nagaland killing

Book available online

Survey ranks India

4th most powerful

Indo Pacific country

Gadkari flexes 100%

petrol or 100%

biofuel engine

Dec 6, the 2021 Lowy

Institute’s comprehensive

power index for 26

countries across the Indo-

Pacific ranked India as the

fourth most powerful one

behind the US, China and

Japan.

The survey which had

ranked India as a major

power in 2018 and 2019

ranked India as a ‘middle

power’ in 2021 as it

accorded the country an

index score of 37.7, just

short of its major power

threshold index of 40. The

survey reckons that an

improvement in defence

networks, such as Quad,

and stronger regional

economic relationships

will boost India’s score.

At: LowyInstitute, IndiaToday

30.8

37.7

38.7

74.6

82.2

020 40 60 80 100

South Korea

Australia

Russia

India

Japan

China

United States

Power Index

A relatively lower Hindu fertility rate

could lead to demographic change

Visit IndiaWiki.org

to talk about what

according to me is the

longest insurgency

running insurgency in

this country, which is

the creation of a Crown

colony in the northeast

and therefore, there is

Nagalim.

With all these

insurgencies going on

surprisingly it is the

Hindu who is the

constant subject of

scrutiny whereas

everybody else is

spared scrutiny.

The Hindu has

proved herself, not

himself herself,

because of Sabarimala I

say herself, to be more

than open to reform in

every possible way.

Way before

untouchability was

abolished under article

17 of the Constitution

the temple entry

movement was

initiated by the

Maharaja of Travancore

in 1936. So several

inward looking people

were more than happy,

if at all the

dharmashastras

warranted it, they were

more than happy to say

we have to move on.

This particular

community perhaps

doesn't get the credit

that it deserves and it

gets more scrutiny than

it deserves, whereas

everybody else is

spared scrutiny.

That was point number

one, point number two

is that any concept

must be understood,

as Dr Tharoor rightly

points out, in a

historical context. I

completely understand

this, but it should not

be divorced from the

unique cultural and

historical experience of

any community.

So nationalism when

spouted by a European

who's fundamentally a

colonizer is not the

same as nationalism

from Savarkar or

anybody else who is

the victim of

colonization, who has

witnessed two

successive waves of

colonization running

for at least 1,400 years.

To say that when we

speak of nationalism

it's the same as

European

supremacism, I'm

sorry, is to compare

apples with oranges.

We are divorcing the

entire history and

focusing exclusively on

the statement. Here

when we speak of

nationalism it is merely

a call for throwing off

the yoke of colonialism

of two kinds. Therefore

this cannot and should

not be compared with

Europeans for the

simple reason that you

are comparing the

victim with the

oppressor and the

aggressor. There

couldn't have been a

greater insult to a

victimized and a

colonized community

that's point number

two.

I'll just make

one more point which

is that the Constitution

is a fine document, it's

a great document, it

must be worshipped.

Yes, I get all of that, but

the point is Dr

Ambedkar after having

crafted this

Constitution during the

Nehruvian dispensation

rues the

fact that he actually

created this

Constitution because

he was seeing it

distorted under the

Nehruvian

dispensation. He said it

very clearly that, ‘I

regret the day that I

was given this task of

having to draft this

document because now

I realize that a terrible

piece of document can

be used for the

betterment of the

people in the hands

of good people but a

fantastic piece of

document and legal

document can be

completely misused in

the hands of

scoundrels.’

So is the chairman of

the Drafting Committee

of the Constitution

regretted having to live

to see the Constitution

and its values being

completely thrown to

the wind. That's point

number three.

The last point that I

think is extremely

important is the

reference to diana her

book called india's

sacred geography

surprisingly when she

refers to india's sacred

geography she chooses

not to refer to it as

bharat.

Email: IndiaWiki2020@gmail.com Website: http://TheGoodWord.IndiaWiki.Org

coloniality or colonial

consciousness which

actively prevents this

particular country, and

specifically the majority

of this country, from

accessing specific

aspects of its past.

Instead they are put

into deep slumber in

the name of secularism

because just as you

have a problem with

let's say the concept of

tolerance, European

history, and I'm

absolutely sure you're

aware of this, is clear

about the Christian

origins and Christian

nature of secularism

itself. Such being the

case, I think when this

particular community

stands up and says I've

had enough of

secularism and I've had

enough of

this inclusivity that is

specifically telling me

forget everything. You

keep citing dalits you

keep citing everybody

else but you don't wish

to talk about the

treatment of Kashmiri

Hindus and the specific

causes behind it. You

don't wish to talk about

what exactly has

happened in Bengal

immediately after

elections from the 2nd

of May. You don't wish

to talk about certain

pockets created in

Assam in the name of

religion. You don't wish

We must first take

care to understand

whether we have

the power of

resistance or not.

Then, having the

power, if we

renounce it and do

not resist, we are

doing a grand act of

love; but if we

cannot resist, and

yet, at the same

time, try to deceive

ourselves into the

belief that we are

actuated by motives

of the highest love,

we are doing the

exact opposite.

Arjuna became a

coward at the sight

of the mighty array

against him; his

"love" made him

forget his duty

towards his country

and king. That is

why Shri Krishna

told him that he

was a hypocrite:

Thou talkest like a

wise man, but thy

actions betray thee

to be a coward;

therefore stand up

and fight!

Such is the central

idea of Karma-Yoga.

The Karma-Yogi is

the man who

understands that

the highest ideal is

non-resistance, and

who also knows

that this non-

resistance is the

highest

manifestation of

power in actual

possession, and also

what is called the

resisting of evil is

but a step on the

way towards the

manifestation of

this highest power,

namely, non-

resistance. Before

reaching this

highest ideal, man's

duty is to resist evil;

let him work, let

him fight, let him

strike straight from

the shoulder. Then

only, when he has

gained the power to

resist, will non-

resistance be a

virtue.

Swami Vivekananda

Karma Yoga

a series of extracts

Swami Vivekananda Image courtesy Newsgram.com;

forced to catch the

christian missionary by

the scruff of his collar

and threatening to

throw him overboard.

That, according to me,

is Hindutva or Hindu

resistance in action. I'm

more than happy to

accommodate all your

points of view provided

you first stop spewing

venom against me in

the name of your

scripture. So the very

same Swami

Vivekananda, I'm so

happy that you've cited

him, also went on to

identify in book after

book, in fact in several

tomes, the history of

invasions from the 8th

century at least until

the 16th century. This

is something that he

has never pixelated.

So the great thing

about these stalwarts,

these civilizational

icons is that they were

very clear that there is

no inconsistency

between recognition of

the universal character

of dharma and what

dharmic communities

and civilizations have

been subjected to in

the name of vidharma.

Let's not call adharma

let's call it vidharma.

This is something that

is starkly missing and

that's exactly what I've

pointed out in my book

which is to say that

there is a filter called

Source - YouTube

Speaker - Sai Deepak

Image - Web-Link

Sai Deepak - In the

interest of time I will

stick to specific points

made by Dr Tharoor.

First, he believes that

the Hindutva that he

subscribes to is that of

Swami Vivekananda. I'm

happy you said that

because while Swami

Vivekananda was happy

to speak of universal

brotherhood from the

podium of the

Parliament of Religions

in Chicago, he was very

clear that universalism

cannot come at the

expense of pixelation of

history. Specific

theological

disagreements resulted

in a constant practice of

exactly this value called

toleration. This civilizing

condescending virtue

called toleration was

resulting in the

proselytization of

Indians en-masse. So

much so that at least in

two of this works, I'm

sure you're aware of it,

he specifically refers to

his encounter with a

Christian missionary on

a ship where Christian

missionary was

constantly spewing

venom against the

religion of Satan, which

is Hinduism. Swami

Vivekananda despite his

belief in universal

brotherhood was

Sai Deepak on Hindu nationalism at a book launch

Dec 6, 2021 | Week 51 | Volume 7S-30

Bharat First

PAGE 2 THE GOOD WORD

Hindus don’t get

the credit that they

deserves and get

more scrutiny than

they deserves,

whereas everybody

else is spared the

scrutiny

The Constitution is

a fine document.

But Dr Ambedkar

after having

crafted this

Constitution during

the Nehruvian

dispensation rues

the fact that he

created it, because

he was seeing it

distorted under the

Nehruvian

dispensation.