National anthem controversy

Copied from Facebook friends post.
Indranil Banerjie
5:29 PM (2 hours ago)

CONTROVERSY ABOUT TAGORE AND THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

There is a popular conspiracy that has been around forever that claims Rabindranath Tagore composed his 'Jana Gana Mana' to welcome George V to India, the same Emperor which he later denied writing his anthem in the honor of.

These conspirators who think Tagore a British stooge poses a very rudimentary knowledge of history and are unfamiliar with Tagore's contributions to improvements in rural education and efforts in the uplifting of tribal people in India and are definitely oblivious to the 4th stanza of our national anthem which has the words "Snehomoyi tumi mata" which means "Oh Loving Mother!" clearly stating it was not written for King George V.

Furthermore, in his letter of 19 March 1939, Tagore writes, "I should only insult myself if I cared to answer those who consider me capable of such unbounded stupidity as to sing in praise of George the Fourth or George the Fifth as the Eternal Charioteer leading the pilgrims on their journey through countless ages of the timeless history of mankind." (Purvasa, Phalgun, 1354, p738.)

Some even say that he renounced his knighthood to falsely show his patriotism and to make amends for glorifying a callous megalomaniacal regime. However, Tagore had no real reason to go to the extent of renouncing his knighthood to show his patriotism,which if he had, he could have gotten away with just penning another song. The fact he actually parted with knighthood, indubitably, is evidence enough that he was a true patriot who placed his country above himself, quite unlike some maharajas who were happy to lead a life of hedonism while their hapless subjects perished under the imperialistic ambitions of the British!

Besides, the fourth verse of the poem clearly shows it was dedicated to a female which King George wasn't.
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His letter to Lord Chelmsford relinquishing his knighthood:
Letter from Rabindranath Tagore to Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India
Calcutta [India]
31 May 1919

"Your Excellency,
The enormity of the measures taken by the Government in the Punjab for quelling some local disturbances has, with a rude shock, revealed to our minds the helplessness of our position as British subjects in India. The disproportionate severity of the punishments inflicted upon the unfortunate people and the methods of carrying them out, we are convinced, are without parallel in the history of civilised governments, barring some conspicuous exceptions, recent and remote. Considering that such treatment has been meted out to a population, disarmed and resourceless, by a power which has the most terribly efficient organisation for destruction of human lives, we must strongly assert that it can claim no political expediency, far less moral justification. The accounts of the insults and sufferings by our brothers in Punjab have trickled through the gagged silence, reaching every corner of India, and the universal agony of indignation roused in the hearts of our people has been ignored by our rulers—possibly congratulating themselves for what they imagine as salutary lessons. This callousness has been praised by most of the Anglo-Indian papers, which have in some cases gone to the brutal length of making fun of our sufferings, without receiving the least check from the same authority—relentlessly careful in smothering every cry of pain and expression of judgement from the organs representing the sufferers. Knowing that our appeals have been in vain and that the passion of vengeance is blinding the nobler vision of statesmanship in our Government, which could so easily afford to be magnanimous as befitting its physical strength and moral tradition, the very least that I can do for my country is to take all consequences upon myself in giving voice to the protest of the millions of my countrymen, surprised into a dumb anguish of terror. The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand, shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen, who, for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings.

These are the reasons which have painfully compelled me to ask Your Excellency, with due reference and regret, to relieve me of my title of Knighthood, which I had the honour to accept from His Majesty the King at the hands of your predecessor, for whose nobleness of heart I still entertain great admiration.

Yours faithfully,

Rabindranath Tagore "
Source: Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, eds., Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997). Letter published in Modern Review (Calcutta monthly), July 1919.

Varna sankara [ courtesty Justice Katju ]

[ FB Post by EX CJI  Markandeya Katju ]
Varna Sankar in USA

How backward most Indians are can be realized by the fact that many of even those Indians who are highly qualified engineers or doctors and have migrated and are settled in America are still very casteist.
This can be realized from an incident narrated yesterday to me by an NRI, who I have no reason to disbelieve

""The young man was handsome tall and His wife doted on him, and the couple was very fond of each other.
When a son was born to the couple, they threw a party to which the parents of the couple were also invited. It was there that the caste of the young man became known for the first time to the young woman and her family, when the young man's father disclosed to the young woman's parents that they were dalits.
This shocked the young woman and her whole family. The young woman immediately went somewhere and got some 'gau mootra' ( cow urine ), poured it over her head and face to purify herself, and left her son and husband forever. She later also got a divorce, and has refused to even have anything to do with her son ( probably regarding him a bastard ). The son is now living with the father.

This shows how difficult it is to change the mindset of people, even though they may have migrated to a modern country, and how deep the roots of casteism are, even among the so-called educated section of our society.
In the Bhagavad Gita 'varna sankar' (inter caste marriage ) is denounced in Chapter 1 shloka 42.

KULAKSHAYE PRANASHYANTI KULADHARMA SANATANAHA
DHARME NASHTE KULAM KRITSNAM ADHARMO’BHIBHAVATYUCHA

ADHARMABHIBHAVAAT KRISHNA PRADUSHYANTI KULASTRIYAHA
STREESHU DRISHTVASU VARSHNEYA JAYATE VARNA SANKARAHA

SANKARO’ NARAKAYAIVA KULAGHNANAM KULASYA CHA
PATANTI PITARO HYESHAAM LUPTA PINDODAKA KRIYAHA

O Krishna, when the family is destroyed, immemorial religious rites and rituals perish, when these perish, they fall into a state of impiety. By impiety, the women of the family become corrupt. When women become corrupt, the purity of the caste is polluted by confusion and admixture. Caste pollution leads to hell for both the family and the slayers of the family. The dead forefathers fall form the higher realms of existence being deprived of the rites of sraddha and tarpana.

So Gita upholds caste system, and clearly states that inter caste marriage leads to hell. And this is the book which the Prime Minister presents to dignitaries on his trips abroad, and a Judge of the Indian Supreme Court wanted to be made compulsory in all schools in India !
Hari Om
[ Copied the post of Justice Katju from the facebook page ]

intention of caste system was never pious

Dear Friend,
Some of you may be explained that caste system was not what it is in current form etc, there was a noble intention, only some people misused it, it was based on Guna aka Quality aka Natural Quality that one posessed etc.., but the below study thrashes this argument, following this argument you will see the statement of vivekananda wich justifies such a thing

Franz Boas [ Some problems of methodology in social sciences ]

" If we know the whole biological, geographical and culural setting
 os a society completely, and if we understood in detail the ways of reacting of the members f the society as a whole to these conditions, we should not need historical knowledge of the origin of
the society to understand its behavior"

Swami Viekananda

"The conviction is daily gaining on my mind that the idea of CASTE is the greatest dividing factor and the root of Maya; all CASTE either on the principle of birth or of merit is bondage. Some friends advise, "True, lay all that at heart, but outside,in the world of relative experience, distinctions like CASTE must needs be maintained"...The idea of oneness at heart [with craven impotence of effort, that is to say], and outside, the hell-dance of demons -oppression and persecution-ay, the dealer of death to the poor; but if the PARIAH be wealthy enough," Oh,he is the protector of religion"

Over and above, I come to see from my studies that the disciplines of religions are not for the SHUDRA; if he exercises any discrimination about food or going out to foreign lands, it is all useless in his case, only so much labour lost. I am a Shudra, a Mlechcha, I have nothing to do with all that botheration. To me what would Mlechcha's food matter or Pariah's? It is in the books written by PRIESTS that madnesses like that of CASTE are to be found, and not in the books revealed from God. Let the PRIESTS enjoy the fruits of their ancestors' achievment, while I follow the word of God, for my good lies there." - Letters; --- p.337-338.

Duplicity of Face book

Do you  Think Ananthkumar is a bigger figure than Dr G Parameshwar or Nitish Kumar or Siddaramaiah.
Friend this is the duplicity of face book, if you go by it Ananth kumar is more popular although he is corrupt and there is not single dot on the other 3 people i compared

gss_sthavarakkalivuntu

Muslim Population Myths

I am summarising the points from a facebook discussion

Debunking the RSS fear mongering that Muslims will take over India's population.

 http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cursor/entry/muslim-population-myths

 "...in 2035, Muslim will become absolute majority in India (total population: 197.7 crore). Conversion, threatening, rioting, slaughtering, terrorism, intrusion, polygamy, no birth control are being the major tools for Muslim to reach that figure within the said period," says the Sangh Parivar website.

RSS' Irrational Fears

What of the RSS fear of Muslims becoming more than half of India's population by 2035? To make this claim, its number crunchers have to project a total population of 198 crore by 2035. By most estimates, India's population would peak at 154 crore by 2050. The simple extrapolations used for demographic scaremongering have no basis in science.

To the extent social backwardnesshas been identified as the reason for high TFRs, whether in regions or in communities, the need is to investmore in things that create development: skills, awareness, education, healthcare, roads, power, broadband, teledensity. But any move to step up investment in Muslim-majority areas, as the Planning Commission has made, is immediately branded as minority appeasement by the Sangh Parivar.

Global Trend


As societies become more prosperous, healthy and women gain agencyand more and more control over their own lives, their TFR comes down. This is so, regardless of religion or geography. It used to be thought that Catholics would resist contraception. Devoutly catholic Spain and Italy today have a TFR of 1.2, tying with Hong Kong for the lowest rate among countries.

Poorer regions tend to have higher TFRs. But poverty is not the only determinant of people's decisions on how many children to have. Cultural values and practices matter a lot. But no Muslim country is immune to the larger trend. TFR has been declining in every major Muslim nation. It is below the replacement level in Iran. Indonesia and Bangladesh are fast approaching that level. Bangladesh's TFR of 2.2 in 2011 is significantly lower than India's 2.7. And in India, backward states like Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh still have high TFRs: 3.5, 4.2 and 3.6 respectively.

Goa (1.5), Kerala (1.6), Tamil Nadu (1.6) and Puducherry (1.6) have TFRs significantly below the replacement level. Soon, their populations will stop growing - as past young cohorts enter the reproductive age, population will continue to grow for some time - and they can soon apply for UN funds for endangered species.

Does this mean that Muslim populations will stabilise at the same rate as Hindu ones? It does not. To the extent cultural and religious factors inhibit progress of the global trend for TFR to fall with social development, the pace of change will vary. In Kerala, in Muslim majority Malappuram district, the TFR has dropped only to 2.2 even as it has been coming down. At the same time, in Muslim majority Lakshadweep and several districts of Jammu and Kashmir, the TFR is below the replacement level.
 


/********************************************

Hans Rosling had a question: Do some religions have a higher birth rate than others -- and how does this affect global population growth? Speaking at the TEDxSummit in Doha, Qatar, he graphs data over time and across religions. With his trademark humor and sharp insight, Hans reaches a surprising conclusion on world fertility rates.

In Hans Rosling’s hands, data sings. Global trends in health and economics come to vivid life. And the big picture of global development—with some surprisingly good news—snaps into sharp focus.
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_religions_and_babies.html

Arvind Iyer

Are we really sitting on a population time bomb? Is the Eurabia threat for real? Hans Rosling challenges a good deal of the alarmism regarding these questions and reveals a trend that 'Hum do hamare do' may actually have been the practised motto of our species in recent decades!

 Arvind Iyer tl;dw:
Babies per woman decrease when:
1. Children survive.
2. Many children are not needed for work.
3. Women get education and join the labor force.
4. Family planning is accessible.

Nehru-scientific-temper

// Asserting that science was the way to go forward, Rao said though the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru believed in it, support for science is, unfortunately, not as good as it should be.// C N R rao

Nehrus Scientific Plan for India:

Science has brought all these mighty changes and not all of them have been for the good of humanity. But the most vital and hopeful of the changes that it has brought about has been the development of the scientific outlook in man.
 —Jawaharlal Nehru

The future belongs to science and those who make friends with science.
- Jawaharlal Nehru

If not for Nehru India would be still lagging behind in science. can you imagine any prime minister taking so much keen interest and travelling across India. If not for Nehru we would be even behind in science, patel unified India in one way, Nehru unified it in another way.
   

//Nehru promoted the growth of science in every conceivable way. He travelled the length and breadth
of the country to open laboratories, to attend scientific meetings, and notably the Indian Science Congress at
the beginning of each year.//

//He supported the aspirations of major players -- Homi Bhabha, to develop the Indian atomic energy programme, which later nurtured the Indian space programme; S.S.Bhatnagar, to create the chain of laboratories of the CSIR; P.C.Mahalanobis, to generate the base of statistics in terms of research, training and application as an enabling tool, particularly for  planning; and D.S.Kothari to initiate work in defence research which grew into the Defence Research Development Organization.
The high point of what Jawaharlal Nehru did for science was embodied in the Scientific Policy Resolution,
adopted by the Government of India on March 4, 1958 (see annexure I). It was a fairly unique statement thenfor any country, leave alone a developing country.//

During the years that Nehru was Prime  Minister, there was massive quantitative expansionof the educational system at all levels -- from primary schools to universities. However, a significant major initiative was the setting up of some unique institutional systems, namely, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which are academic, degree-granting institutions, but set apart from the normal university system. The IITs, primarily based on the Sarkar Committee Report, were designed to be the leaders in the field of technical education. Nehru remarked: While it is relatively easy to put up a factory or a plant or a project, it is much more difficult and it takes much more time to train the human being that will run a factory or plant

http://www.iisc.ernet.in/insa/ch3.pdf

 Nehru was instrumental in laying the foundations for building the infrastructure for science and
technology in India – the Universities, the IITs, the CSIR labs, etc. These became the 'hardware' of
science and technology in India, while Scientific Temper among the people of India was to be the
‘software’. In 1976, India became the first countryto include in its Cons
titution 'Scientific Temper with humanism' as a fundamental duty of all citizens of the country [Article 51-A(h)].`


http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article715.html

Why Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s concept of ‘scientific temper’ is very critical to the future of our children?

The future belongs to science and those who
http://scientifictemper.hpage.co.in/scientific-temper_1739305.html
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But what did he mean by scientific temper? Srirupa Roy in her book “Beyond belief: India and the politics of postcolonial nationalism” notes that Nehru’s emphasis on the need for scientific temper predated independence (p.123). The features of scientific temper were mainly two-fold as Roy elaborates:

1. Scientific temper referred to a mentality or an outlook rather than a specialized body of knowledge. It addressed itself to universalist concerns of “values of life” rather than to narrow and specialized questions of scientific research and application (Roy, p.124)

2. Unlike scientific expertise alone, the project of scientific temper was a call for the diffusion of “science mindedness” throughout the population. The growth of scientific temper was measured by the extent to which ordinary people were using the methods of science to life’s problems (Roy, p.125)

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