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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: long-gone who wrote (10672)	2/14/2000 12:44:00 PM
From: sea_biscuit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

I think you should shape your opinions after spending some time in India. Meeting a few people from India in the US isn't going to be very instructive. The present government in India is headed by a political party that draws its philosophy from leaders past and present, some of whom have clearly and explicitly stated that non-Hindus in India should not have any rights. As I said before, you have to spend some time in India to know about all this.

To: long-gone who wrote (10672)	2/14/2000 2:31:00 PM
From: JPR	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

Richard Harmon: My response to your post is bolded. Thoughts on this please, sounds like B.S. based on everyone I ever met from India. Though the deaths might be based on this, might be based on something else, some Christians can get in the face of others rather badly. Violence against Christians is something new in India. The Hindus coexisted with the Christians for ages. Dara Singh, AKA Rabindra Kumar Pal was arrested for the death of the innocent Australian children and their father. This religious (ethnic, racial) bigotry and murder, as much as it is despicable, should be stamped out not only in India, but also in Northern Ireland, Africa and US - dragging death of an AfroAmerican. In the true Christian spirit, Mrs. Gladys Steins wife of the slain minister and mother of the slain boys had forgiven Singh. There you see the hand and mind of Jesus Christ. Now let the law do its part--JPR Hindu Extremism on the Rise in India By Suryamurthy Ramachandran CNS Correspondent 14 February, 2000 New Delhi (CNSNews.com) -Hindu fundamentalist groups in India are trying to curb the activities of other religious groups and control the "expressions" of those not conforming to their world view, according to analysts here. As examples, analysts point to Hindu attempts to change the Indian constitution in ways that would curb artistic free expression and restrict the right of minority Christians and Muslims to preach and practice their religion freely. Many foreign invasions have left this legacy of many religions and races in the country. People have to learn to accept the reality and live in harmony.--JPR "Increasing intolerance among the Hindu fundamentalist organizations, which pose a grave threat to democracy, are an indication of the rise of fascist forces in India," said politics professor M. Mohanty of Delhi University. In the Muslim era, the Hindus were taxed and the Muslims & Muslim converts were not. The Hindu adherents either paid taxes, or faced death or were no the run or moved into the deep south to escape the muslim invaders. The Hindu temples were demolished and the debris was used to build Muslim places of worship. These have left a deep scar in the national psyche, esp in the mind of North Indians, who were the immediate recipients of whatever the Muslims dished out to the Hindus. Compare this to the torching of the black churches in the South in the name of race. Here the religion didn't make any difference. India and Indians have to rehabilitate themselves from all these experiences and act what comes natural and that is tolerance and friendship towards all.--JPR "What happened with European fascism is now happening with the Hindus," he told CNSNews.com. A little bit of exaggeration. India is many people, many religions, & many cultures. Fascism does not take root in a very diverse country such as India. For Fascism & Pogrom to exist and grow in strength, there should not be more than two diverse elements, one far stronger than the other. And a very strong precipitating factor. Eg: Germans and Jews ,Whites and Native Americans.-JPR Kanti Bajpai, professor of international politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, agreed, telling CNSNews.com that "the rise of right-wing politics in India is far more advanced and violent than in Austria." More than 80 percent of India's nearly one billion people are Hindus. Muslims form a sizeable minority of around 15 percent, while just 2.5 percent are Christians. Although Hindu fundamentalist leaders have formally denied responsibility for attacks on minority religious communities, their propaganda is characterized by threats of violence. In Orissa, where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were murdered 13 months ago, the local government passed an order last November prohibiting religious conversions without the prior permission of the local police and a district magistrate. < b>I am not defending the local Govt's practice. I'm explaining it. Proselytization has many ways. Eg Forced conversion, material inducements, promise and guranteed salvation. The idea behind such order is to dissuade the missionaries from overjealous effort to convert the indigent, the deprived, the uneducated, the unsuspecting, the na‹ve, the underprivileged and the underdog by offering inducements. The aforementioned people are susceptible to conversion based on material. A religious conversion is a spiritual experience and nothing else. This order also will prevent the extreme Hindu fanatics to take matters on their own hands to counteract the proselytization. You have laws in the books, but mind is a different thing--JPR The order, an amendment to the 1967 Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, stipulates that a citizen wishing to convert must undergo a police inquiry to explain his or her reasons. India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has passed a bill restricting the building and use of places of worship. It is awaiting the approval of the Indian president.

To: long-gone who wrote (10672)	2/14/2000 11:59:00 PM
From: Nandu	Respond to of 12475

Richard, the central theme of the article is correct. There is a rise in Hindu Extremism in India, and it does manifest in attempts to control the "expressions" of those not conforming to their world view. Their have been numerous examples of this happening in the recent past. However, I do not yet see any attempts to change the Indian constitution in ways that would curb artistic free expression and restrict the right of minority Christians and Muslims to preach and practice their religion freely. A review of the Indian Constitution has been undertaken recently, but none of the opinions expressed by proponents or opponents of the review suggest to me that any changes aimed at curbing freedom of expression are under consideration. Of course, the picture will become clearer only with time. As for your question about safety of tourists, there is no increased danger to western tourists, except in Kashmir.