One Diwali the highly revered monk of Hindus, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, was arrested while performing puja. The secular world celebrated it as a victory of law and constitutional propriety. When nothing was proved, all the chargesheets turned bunkum, the Supreme Court gave a verdict favouring the swami's release on bail, but no one retracted the strong, often abusive words used for the Hindu monk. It was met with silence as if nothing important had happened.

One Krishna Janmashtami night, another ochre-robed reformist monk, Swami Lakshmanananda, was murdered along with an aged Hindu nun, Ma Bhaktimoyee, in his ashram. Secularists tried to direct and guide the entire investigation till the arrested murderers confessed that swami's work among tribals made prosylitisation difficult and hence they took the violent way.

The media linked the violence post-Lakshmanananda's murder to various Hindu organisations and completely ignored the brutal killing of the sanyasi and the lady monk.

This Diwali, Hindus were labelled as 'terrorists'.

There is a university in Delhi [Images] which gets a large amount of Saudi grants, and which thought it appropriate to honour a Muslim painter whose nudes of Hindu gods and goddesses and Mother India were opposed by Hindus, with a Doctor of Philosophy degree, honoris causa. The same university's vice chancellor, in a display of public affection for those students arrested for treason by a Congress government, declared that he will fund their 'struggle' as they are his 'children' and they would be considered innocent till proved guilty.

The secular world applauded his decision as bold and highly moral.

A Hindu sadhvi has been arrested for her alleged involvement in the Malegaon blasts. But not a single Hindu organisation came out in her support saying she remains a member of the global Hindu fraternity and would be considered innocent till proved guilty and hence shall provide all the financial assistance to her.

I was thinking, suppose I start a 'support Pragya fund' how any Hindu saints and ashrams and mutts and leaders would come out in support? Doesn't she deserve help and support till proved innocent?

Unlike the sweet little students of the university's vice chancellor, who were arrested from the area of the Batla House encounter, Pragya was in Surat [Images], giving a religious discourse when the Malegaon blasts occurred in September. Her bike had been sold years before. No one said the blasts were organised to make Hindu law applicable or turn the nation into a Hindu state. No one had quoted Hindu scriptures to justify what would be termed as a ghastly act, inhuman and un-Hindu.

Yet, there was a virtual celebration in the so-called secular camp, they were over-joyous as if they have reached the moon. Got it, they said, what we were saying for years! The usual suspects were on our TV screens, delightedly giving interviews and the media lapped up crispy descriptions like Hindu terror, Hindu bomb, Saffron terrorism. When they quote the Quran, seculars cry don't label them Islamic terrorists, but Hindus being Hindus must be termed as Hindu terrorists to keep a 'balance'. So those who insult the memory of a martyred police officer show their glee over having succeeded in bringing the term 'Hindu terrorism' in vogue. What greater shield could an Islamic terrorist have wished for!

They were itching for this day � and they have got it.

Last year too the 2006 Malegaon blasts were blamed on Hindus. Later the agencies proved they were done by SIMI [Images]. This year, Union ministers were demanding the ban on SIMI be lifted in spite of truckloads of evidence of the organisation's involvement in deadly blasts and waging war against the State, the most heinous crime in any part of the world. And the investigations, gathering of proof and the hard, difficult investigation, were done by government agencies.

The same honourable members of the Union cabinet demanded banning Hindu organisations, in spite of having no evidence of their involvement in violent activities or working against the Indian State. Those who ignore the Supreme Court's verdict on a terrorist who was accused waging war against the State, demand that Hindu organisations be banned for their patriotism. Once they drove out the tricolour folks from the Kashmir Valley, now they assassinate their morale in the rest of the country.

For the sake of Muslim vote-bank, SIMI had to be helped and Hindu organisations needed to be shown as being involved in anti-national activities. The balancing had to be achieved, like the U C Banerjee Commission. Much before the honourable commission could start work on Godhra, leaders were declaring during the Bihar election campaign -- many of whom loved to be seen with an Osama look-alike -- that the Godhra train inferno was a creation of Hindus so that they could get a chance to pounce on Muslims.

So much for their secular credentials!

This time, too, they had tremendous amount of pressure to nurse their vote-banks. Elections are right here, campaigning has begun, chances look very bleak seeing the public mood, and voters seem already restless with high prices, growing inflation and an insecure atmosphere. Hence a communal divide would help. If such considerations can be credited as having instigated the 'creation' of a Hindu or 'Saffron' terrorism, would it be a far-fetched conclusion?

The intelligent people who could create a Bhindranwale, or a Raj Thackeray [Images], to 'defeat' one or the other political opponent, could also be trusted to repeat the feat elsewhere.

So, this time, the police version is not to be distrusted or questioned. The first suspicion about police action is reserved for the Batla House fraternity. Hindu monks do not deserve it.

The term 'Hindu terrorism' looks so attractive to secularists. Proof, evidence, and final acquittal may take year. But the articles, front page edits, condemnations, further isolation, and cornering of the saffron side, would help someone. That's enough for today.

That this way may turn more dangerous tomorrow is not understood by the perpetrators of the secular pogrom of words against the Hindu Right. Every nation has a soul and a colour. India's soul is Hindu civilisation and the colour is saffron. Samuel Huntington described America as a Latin Christian nation, and it doesn't make her any less to give other communities second-class citizenship.

It may be the first time in its four hundred years of democratic history that a Black might be sworn in as President, who would take oath on the Bible. Who would demand that it's an unhealthy tradition, as non-Christians also built America? Traditions, colours and the inner core are always sacred and nations preserve them at all costs. If the same elements are humiliated and turned into icons of shame, nothing remains except a dead, meaningless smoke of rootless words.

India's Hinduness is that essential element to define this nation. We can't be explained through Saudis, Marx or Bethlehem. Or through Arabic or Latin or Persian. India is explained by the Ganga, Krishna, Ram and Gandhi. By Kumbh Mela, Sanskrit chanting, lighting of the lamp, Namaste, the Vedas, Guru Nanak's teachings, Guru Gobind Singh's valour, Buddha's global message of peace and compassion and Mahavir's ahimsa. India is deciphered by Dhammapad, the Gita, the Guru Granth Sahib and a divine love that saw the emergence of Radha and Meera. That fired the imaginations of doyens like Tagore and Vivekananda. Together they make a mutually supportive group of Indian streams of faith that welcomed and accommodated without murmur all other ways of worship brought here through various means.

Every single persecuted community in the world found a respectable space here, while they were brutalised, uprooted, converted and 'museum-ised' in other countries. The legacy of tolerance and plurality is the legacy of the Hindus and all those faiths born and flowered here. It made Taj Mahal [Images] possible and Jesus adored by a non-Christian majority. You deny them this place of honour, make them shrink in a defensive shell, and you lose India.

For just a comeback to power? And how!

Ram Sethu [Images] becomes a target of destruction, Ram is denied, Ram's history linked with the bridge is mocked at, Sita's persona is caricaturized in public, the shrinking Hindu population and their conversion become victory signposts of the secularists, Hindus driven out of Kashmir are deleted from all lists of secular concern, Hindu temples are taken over by the atheist State and their revenue used on non-Hindu areas, while not a single non-Hindu place of worship is taken over or 'managed' on similar grounds by the governors! More than sixty thousand Hindus have been killed by terrorists in various actions during the last three decades, five lakh have been uprooted and turned refugees, but no one shares their grief or respects their courage, but terms them terrorist in a matter of 24 hours, that too relying on media hype and an election platform?

After centuries Hindus got freedom that should have meant a free space for them to flower their culture, language and traditions. After all, the invaders came to attack and loot them and raze their temples. Wasn't it a matter of logical right that they should have been honoured for exemplary resistance and resilience and showing an extraordinary tolerance towards all those communities whose leaders had been in the forefront to deprive them of basic human rights? But instead, the victims were portrayed as aggressors and humiliated for their colour and faith. What has changed since Ghauris and Ghaznavis and the inquisitionist Portuguese left?

They killed us but never portrayed Hindus as terrorists. This secular dispensation is celebrating Diwali with that label gifted to Hindus. It will not remain unanswered. Hindus as a mainline faith never never never believed in any kind of cowardice that's the hallmark of terrorism we see today. Killing innocents, shooting at fellow citizens and the dreaded midnight knocks just for the reason they wear a different faith.

If that was the case, the way Islamists quote from religious scriptures and declare their religious intentions while committing ghastly acts of violence, how much ever disapproved of by their co- religionists living and enjoying democratic freedoms, Hindus too would have shown the same streaks immediately after their women were gang-raped and kids murdered in Kashmir. There was no revenge in the rest of the country. Not a single Hindu soul would ever justify any act of terrorism ever (and please don't refer to exceptions to corner Hindus, see the principal stream). Born reformists, they would revolt if anyone did that.

But I am afraid the secular hate-mongers are pushing Hindus into a difficult corner without a space to be heard. Not a single 'mainline' newspaper publishes their views, though any number of assaults on them are a matter of routine. This is creating a grave situation and it's a warning signal that can be ignored only at the peril of the nation's great legacy of plurality.

Dear Friends,

I am posting this after conversation with my friend at Mumbai over GTalk regarding Marathi Non-Marathi Issue. From that conversation, it is clearly shown that media is making hype of every thing. This is really surprising that media is playing very cruel to collect the TRP and Politicians are playing for their Vote Bank. It is understandable for dirty politicians, but what happened to our Media, What they are doing ... Simply assisting politicians to spread the hatred. Every News is now a day is a breaking news. Any small road side politician is getting popularity by passing a controversial statement on media, and then our media starts selling that statement for whole day. And thus that road side politician becomes a national leader and encouraged to such things.

At least our Media should understand that they are known for People's Voice not for being Politicians Voice. There is hell lot of other very critical issues like Global Warming, population, poverty, unemployment for nation, nobody is even thinking of that. Media should play a positive role towards that.

We also need to be very choosy while choosing our candidate for Parliament.

We should not give our vote on the name of caste.

We should not give bribe to the officials. It may take time to get the desired result but will be very helpful for our nation.

Let's Spread the awareness all over.

It is possible just because of our corrupt politicians and weak law and order situation in country. We should have a very stern and unsympathetic rule against the terrorism. A rule which can crush the terrorism by punishing terrorists and criminals very hard. At any cost, the terrorists and criminals should not be forgiven. They are killing thousands of people without any cause, only for their sick mentality. They do not belong to any caste or religion.

Why a common man suffers everytime? It is really a very pathetic situation for all Indian, We can not enjoy Saturday or Sunday. We can not go for outing. Confined to our houses. just because of these few terrorists. Everywhere there is a threat of blast or any thing dangerous. If a person goes out, it is not definite that he will return back safely. Why.???

We are fighting over language like Marathi, Hindi etc.. We are fighting on several irrelevant issues.. Why not we are getting united against corruption, terrorism. Why not any organization is fighting violently against these violence..

Every body should be clear that these terrorists do not work inside boundary of law and to handle them we also have to cross certain laws..

Why terrorist organizations are breathing in our country and few of our politicians are taking care of them by saying that they are minorities. Now they are No more minorities. they have increased their population with a great speed. We have to think over and restructure the 50 year old constitution.

Lets think over this and start a movement across the country against the Corruption and Terrorism.

A big question is: Are we paying for being Secular?

Look at the following recent News:

· Bihar is flooded badly, Around 40 Lacs people in great danger. (Continues)

· Hurricane in America. 10 lacs people in great danger. (Continues)

· Earthquake and Flood in China. (01^st Sep 2008)

· Strong Earthquake in Nepal. (26^th Aug 2008)

· Earthquake jolts Bangladesh capital. (27^th July 2008)

· Strong 6.8 quake rattles northern Japan (23rd July 2008)

What is happening???

Is this the punishment for what we did with nature???

Stop tempering with Nature now. Save ourselves. It is the time to Act positively.

Start a Movement against Global Warming.

Everywhere water and air is destructing. Our climate is changing unexpectedly. In fact, water and air, the vital part of life, now has become great danger for life. Even, our ground (Zameen) has also started destructing now.

Think what will happen when both north and South Pole liquidizes, whole land gets covered with water, air blowing fast and earthquakes are frequent. Act before it occurs.

Save Energy, Avoid CFC Producing Products, Walk More, Avoid Using Bikes and Cars.

The old shore road to Totope is now under the sea. Developers began carving out another road, but it was washed away so often they abandoned it. Now the road to this village is just a track across the sand. On this southern coast of Ghana, the Atlantic Ocean is rising. Every few years, residents of a string of villages leave their homes and build new ones farther back, abandoning them to the encroaching sand and water. But Totope has no place left to run. It is squeezed between the ocean and the Songho Lagoon, and the villagers say that in a few years they will have to go.

Arctic Ocean sea ice has melted to the second lowest minimum since satellite observations began, according to scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre. Sea ice melt recorded on Monday exceeded the low recorded in 2005, which had held second place. Environmental groups said the ice melt was another alarm bell warning of global warming. "It's an unfortunate sign that climate change is coming rapidly to the Arctic and that we really need to address the issue of global warming on a national level," said Arctic project manager for Oceana.

Avoid screen savers: Screen savers are a big energy spend. But turning computers off and on does not take extra energy so switch off every time you finish using them

Train Eco Friendly than Car: Take a train rather than a car for daily commuting of 8 km. It saves 1.7 kg CO2 a day.

Jog in the park: Why not jog in a park instead of going on the treadmill? The calories spent are the same and you also get to save energy and, thus, the environment.

Stop Idling!: Stop idling cars and save both gas and the environment. Experts have estimated that a vehicle that idles for three minutes with the air-conditioner on, burns fuel required for traveling one km.

Print Carefully: Stop taking printouts frequently. It will reduce cutting of trees.

Travel light for environment: Pack lighter suitcases. It says that world savings would be 2 million tonnes a year if every airline passenger cut the weight of baggage to below 20 kg and bought duty free goods on arrival.

If this situation remains then what will happen to our lovely Childs, what type of environment we will leave for them?

It's Now or Never. It's already late. Act for our Earth, our Child.

Avoid screen savers: Screen savers are a big energy spend. But turning computers off and on does not take extra energy so switch off every time you finish using them

Train Eco Friendly than Car: Take a train rather than a car for daily commuting of 8 km. It saves 1.7 kg CO2 a day.

Jog in the park: Why not jog in a park instead of going on the treadmill? The calories spent are the same and you also get to save energy and, thus, the environment.

Stop Idling!: Stop idling cars and save both gas and the environment. Experts have estimated that a vehicle that idles for three minutes with the air-conditioner on, burns fuel required for traveling one km.

Print Carefully: Stop taking printouts frequently. It will reduce cutting of trees.

Travel light for environment: Pack lighter suitcases. It says that world savings would be 2 million tonnes a year if every airline passenger cut the weight of baggage to below 20 kg and bought duty free goods on arrival.

Plant a tree on each holiday.

Save Your Planet, Save Your Child, Save Humanity

(Environmentally & Monetarily both).

Burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil and gasoline raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

We can help to reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which in turn reduces global warming, by using energy more wisely. Here are 10 simple actions we can take to help reduce global warming.

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 1,043 KG of carbon dioxide annually.

2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning

Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home.

Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 1000 KG of carbon dioxide each year.

3. Change a Light Bulb

Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you Rs. 1200/- over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.

If every family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 170 billion KG of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.

4. Drive Less and Drive Smart

Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community's mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.

When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of oil/gas you save not only helps your budget; it also keeps 10 KG of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products

When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.

Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 540 KG of carbon dioxide annually.

6. Use Less Hot Water

Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 157 KG of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 250 KG of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.

7. Use the "Off" Switch

Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as lighter as you need. And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.

It's also a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource.

8. Plant a Tree

If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company

Many utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.

10. Encourage Others to Conserve

Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.

These 10 steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

SAVE YOURSELF SAVE OUR PLANET SAVE HUMANITY

Yesterday '22-06-2008', I was watching news on NDTV and AajTak. There were two bulletins regarding the Global Warming on each channel.

The base line of the first bulletin on NDTV was about rising Sea Level. Ice at North Pole is melting and sea level is rising dangerously, which is becoming the great threat to the costal cities like Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata etc and also for Nations surrounded by sea like Sri Lanka, Australia etc..

Second bulletin on AajTak was showing LakshDeeps 'Group of Islands in India' is on the verge of getting into the sea.

Environmental scientists are giving two reasons for this, first, the dangerously rising sea level, which, off course, is result of Ice melting at North Pole, second, Coral plants (Munga) are dying because the sea water is getting hard day by day. 50-60% Carbon Dioxide (CO_{2), a} greenhouse gas, in our environment is absorbed by sea, the sea plants absorbs the (CO₂) and returns back Oxygen (O₂). Due to excess of CO2 in environment, the sea water is getting hard and plants inside the sea are dying.

Now it's very high time for our environment and world.

SAVE YOURSELF SAVE OUR PLANET SAVE HUMANITY

The reason of oil price hike is the limited oil resources inside the earth. We have extracted maximum gallons of oil from earth and now the resource is very low, which leads to oil price hike and inflation.

If we think from the aspect of global warming : we have burnt maximum of explosive material (oil) in our environment which was kept deep inside the earth. Due to the gas (Carbon dioxide) genereted by burning this oil is now a great danger for our lovely planet. Increasing number of private motorvachiles are the most damaging element.

Now we have to take some urgent steps to overcome the bad effect of greenhous gases and Inflation as well.

Please please please, do not use your car frequently. Walk for a short distance, Use manual cycle/ricksaw to go to market, For office, please take help of local public transport. Only use car when you are going out with your family. Never use car for single or two.

This will not only reduce your oil expences but also help our environment, our planet earth. if we follow this, it will reduce the oil cosumtion substantialy hence, we can use this resource for long and live on this earth long.

Please convince people round you to Save Energy, Oil & Environment.

Be a part of this noble cause.

Love your planet,

Ravi Shankar

http://www.shankarravi.rediffiland.com/

http://ravishankarsrivastava.blogspot.com/