By Dr. Jawaid Quddus

  I am no expert on hair loss, and this article is not about hair loss, or Rogaine or Propecia.  The point that I am trying to make is that over these years I never noticed my hair loss, never realized that I was going to be semi- bald one day. It happened so gradually that it never was noticed by me till that fateful day when I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that the person I was looking at resembled David  rather than Rajesh Khanna!  My hair loss crept in without my realizing it, and when I did, it was already too late!  Such is the situation in India today!  The Sangh Parivar is creeping in and transforming the basic nature of our beloved country, converting it from a pluralistic vibrant secular democracy to a theocratic Hindu Rashtra.  And it is doing it slowly, steadily and very cunningly.  If the silent majority will not wake up to this danger, when they do wake up, they will find that the 'balding' of India is complete and irreversible!

  The process of reincarnation of India into a Hindu Rashtra did not start today.  This metamorphosis is a continuation of the Sangh Parivar's agenda, which has been hidden for only those you did not care to look!  The dream of establishing a Hindu Rashtra was always there, and gained additional momentum during the chaos of partition.  For all those who would care to investigate, partition of India which was opposed by Gandhi, Azad and to considerable extent by Nehru, was never opposed by the Sangh Parivar.  Actually, the RSS and like minded individuals either refrained in participating in the freedom struggle or actively sabotaged it in favor of the British.  You don't have to take my word for it. Dr. Hedgewar's biography published by the RSS (C.P. Bhishikar, Sanghavriksh Ke Beej: Dr. Keshav Rao Hedgewar, New Delhi, 1944) indicates that during the Salt Satyagraha when Gandhiji had called on all Indians to break the unjust laws of the government, Dr. Hedgewar had made it very clear that the Hindutva brigade would not participate in the Satyagraha.  However, although those wishing to participate were not prohibited but it was implied that any responsible worker of the Sangh could not participate in the Satyagraha.  Although Dr. Saheb himself did participate in this Salt Satyagraha, his motive, according to his published biography was to ...'discuss the Sangh with them and win them over for his work'.

  Dr. Hedgewar's dreams of establishing Hindu Rashtra was well known and adequately publicized by him.  He openly criticized Gandhiji on his strong stance for Hindu-Muslim Unity and believed that because of the non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji 'the yavana-snakes ( i.e. Muslims) reared on the milk of non-cooperation were provoking riots in the nation with their poisonous hissing.'  He established the RSS in 1925 basically to propagate his views on Hindu Rashtra among the youth, including teenagers.  Thus started a hate campaign against the minorities which continues till today.

  The freedom struggle has provided us with a vast amount of literature in the form of documents, letters, speeches, etc. The lives and deeds of all those involved in the struggle against the British are well documented.  No documents exists that show the contributions of the RSS in the freedom movement,, although documents  do exist  (Shri Guruji Samagra Darshan, Vol. IV, Nagpur, n.d., p. 39-40) that show that Guru Golwalkar actually tried to persuade some of those involved in the freedom struggle to give it up ' Definitely go, but who will take care of your family them?  When the individual said that 'he has sufficiently arranged resources not only to run the family expenses for two years but also to pay fines according to the requirements', the doctor then retorted 'if you have fully arranged for the resources then come out to work for the Sang for two years'.

  During the forties the RSS aggressively campaigned for Hindu Rashtra but did not participate in the anti-British struggle.  According to Guru Golwalkar, who was appointed by Hedgewar as his successor, 'The theories of territorial nationalism and common danger, which formed the basis for our concept of nation, had deprived us of the positive and inspiring content of our real Hindu Nationhood and made many of the 'freedom movements' virtually anti British movements. Anti-Britishism was equated with patriotism and nationalism.  This reactionary view has had disastrous effects upon the entire course of the freedom movement, its leaders and the common people (M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, Banglore, 1996, p. 138).  Suffice it to say that while true patriots such as Bhagat Singh, Peer Ali Khan, and many others were going to the gallows with pride as freedom fighters, Golwalkar was designing and defining his concept of Hindu Rashtra on the model of Nazi Germany.  His admiration for Hitler's success is clearly evident as indicated by him: 'It is worth bearing well in mind how these old Nations solve their minorities problem.  They do not undertake to recognize any separate element in their polity.  Emigrants have to get themselves naturally assimilated in the principal mass of the population, the National Race, by adopting its culture and language and sharing in its aspirations, by losing all consciousness of their separate existence, forgetting their foreign origin. If they do not do so, they live merely as outsiders, bound by all the codes and conventions of the Nation, at the sufferance of the Nation and deserving no special protection, far less any privilege or rights.  There are only two courses open to the foreign elements, either to merge themselves in the national race and adopt its culture, or to  live at its mercy so long as the national race may allow them to do so and to quit the country at the sweet will of the national race.  That is the only sound view on the minorities problem.  That is the only logical and correct solution. That alone keeps the national life healthy and undisturbed.  That alone keeps the nation safe from the danger of a cancer developing into its body politic of the creation of a state within a state'.

'From this stand point, sanctioned by the experiences of shrewd nations, the foreign races in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment, not even citizen's rights.  There is, at least should be, no other course for them to adopt. We are an old nation: let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races who have chosen to live in our country'. (M. S. Golwalkar, We or Our Nationhood Defined, 1938, p. 35)

Ever wonder where the concept of 'one country, one culture, one religion came from?  And of course, Muslims Christians and all other non Hindus are the foreigners!  This is exactly what it says in school text books introduced by the Sangh Parivar in Schools in Gujrat, U.P. and else where.

  So while the silent majority is sleeping, the Sangh Parivar is slowly creeping in and destroying the very fabric of our secular and pluralistic India that our forefathers had envisioned and our martyrs had died for!   To do this of course they must demonize the Muslims and the other minorities and change our collective history!  Hence the distortions.  History is being distorted and rewritten, secular officials in the police and governmental organizations are being slowly infiltrated by the Sangh Parivar supporters.  A recent example is the revamping of the  Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and withdrawal of the two volumes of a documentary history of the Indian freedom struggle. These two volumes compiled after two decades by some of the World's most eminent Indian Historians have been trashed, possibly to be doctored in order to fabricate and rewrite the  history in the Sangh's favor, delete references to the non- involvement of the Sangh Parivar in the freedom movement, involvement of the RSS in the assassination of Bapuji (Gandhi) etc. Historians such as Professor S. Gopal, Sumit Sarkar, Panikkar and Bimal Prasad have been discredited and Sangh sympathizers, none of them qualified Indian historians, have been put in their place.  Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, when questioned in the Rajya Sabha on March 3, 2000 ( Frontline, Vol. 17, issue 6, March 18-31, 2000) came up with answers that were untruths and these distortions were very effectively unmasked by those members of the ICHR Committee responsible for the publication of these two volumes.  But lies and half-truths, coming from an individual who has been charge-sheeted for the demolition of the Babri Masjid and is responsible for the appointment of a self-confessed murderer of a Muslim woman during the partition riots , should not be a surprise to any, but a downright shame for all law abiding Indians of character and integrity! My question to  Dr. Manohar is: Why would a decent law abiding and honorable citizen be amongst crowds of murderers and carry a gun?  And why in order to save the honor of the victim, would he shoot and kill the victim and not the rapists?  A concerted effort is being made to completely redefine our history and culture. Known RSS or Sangh Parivar sympathizers are being put in positions of authority in institutions such as The Council of Social Science and Research, The Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, The Nehru Museum and Memorial Library, The National Museums, Indian Institute of Mass Communications and many other educational and cultural Institutions.   History is being retaught and new text books have been written which not only contain absurd and incorrect references to history, they are also being utilized to preach hatred against the minorities. (For excellent documentation on these and other issues the reader is directed to visit the South Asia Documentation Center site at  http://members.xoom.com/indowindow  ).

  The distortion continues. The Indian population, slowly polarized to generate hatred for the Muslims, other minorities and even other Hindus who do not subscribe to the Hindutva ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Therefore, as a part of this process of disinformation, a lot of  hue and cry was made and continues to be made about the appeasement of the Muslims although the actual facts indicate otherwise.  I would direct the readers to the article published by India Today, January 31, 1993, 'Nailing the Big Lie' which indicates the following:  Out of a total population 0f 12.2 percent, only 4 % of the Muslim children complete matriculation, less that 3% are  in the plum services like the I.A..S., obtain only 2 percent of industrial licenses and 3.7 % of loans by banks. Another report by Partha Ghosh ('BJP and the Evolution of Hindu Nationalism: From Periphery to Center) also cited several similar statistic indicating that:  A total of 52.3 per cent Muslims are below the  poverty line, the monthly income of  Muslims is only Rs.150, that 50.5 per cent Muslims are  illiterate, in Government services their share is 4.4 per cent, that male illiteracy among Muslims is 42.4 per cent compared to 25.3 per cent among the Hindus and that the corresponding figures of female illiteracy are 59.9 and 45.2, respectively.   Less than 1 per cent (0.8) Muslims are graduates while 4.5 percent are Hindus.  This big lie about the Muslim appeasement was swallowed hook, line and sinker, by the Hindus, aided, in turn by the fact that the Government initially had refused to release the Gopal Singh report that would have nailed the lies! In addition, the Sangh Parivar also used the bogey about the destruction of temples in Kashmir to garner support for their agenda. That the claim by the BJP about destruction of these temples were fabricated is of no concern to all those who needed a stick to beat the Muslims with.  It did not matter that India Today ('Damaging Lies',  Feb. 28, 1993) sent out its reporters to visit all those temples that the BJP claimed had  been destroyed and published a list and photographs refuting this claim. Of the 40 odd temples that L.K. Advani claimed had been destroyed (claimed so as to justify the destruction of Babri Masjid), only a few of them were actually damaged, most of them by cross-fire between the militants and the security forces.  Some destroyed buildings also included mosques as well.  Also those temples that were damaged or destroyed were damaged after the destruction of Babri Masjid and not before, as claimed by the BJP.  In addition some of destroyed temples were subsequently rebuilt with the help of the Muslims. But facts do not matter to the Sangh Parivar as long as as their distortions reinforces in the Hindu mind the belief that they (Hindus) are being subjected to Muslim tyranny.   These distortions and lies have put the Sangh Parivar in position of power, which they are effectively using to saffronize the Indian mind and Indian institutions with the ultimate goal to bring about a Hindu Rashtra.  This is not a hidden agenda as some people claim, it is out in the open for all to see.  According to Ram Jethmalani, Union Minister of Law and Justice:

'The Indian Penal Code makes it a serious criminal offense to pull down any place of worship. It is no defense in law that the place of worship was constructed five hundred years ago on the site of another demolished place of worship belonging to the community of the accused.  The throngs that threaten to converge on Ayodhya and pull down the mosque will in the eye of law be an unlawful assembly determined to commit offenses of mischief, criminal trespass, wounding of religious feelings and desecration of a holy place.  Grievous injury and killings as possible consequences will be within the reasonable contemplation of its members.  It would be the plain duty of the Government to tackle this situation according to the law of the land.  The law doubtless requires the state to use all force at its command to disperse the unlawful assembly and prevent the commission of the threatened offenses.  The resulting mayhem and loss of life will only be legitimate consequences of the execution of legal and constitutional duty.  Every sane person must therefore pause and do a bit of rational introspection while there is some time left however short'.

'The time bomb is ticking away. When it explodes communal harmony and national integration will be the prime casualties.  The nation will not emerge stronger but weakened and debilitated beyond measure.  Mr. L. K. Advani is a Member of Parliament.  He has sworn to uphold the law and the Constitution'.

'While he will lead the assembly of law-breakers what does he expect the U.P. Government to do?  Its Ministers are also sworn to uphold the law and Constitution.  The police force is statutorily committed to neutralize the marching hordes even though composed of Sadhus, Acharyas and otherwise respectable political leaders.  There is no loophole or ambiguity in the law'- Indian Express, (October 16, 1990).

The reader should know that Mr. Ram Jethmalani is the Union Law and Justice Minister working under the present Government, and that the Babri Masjid was destroyed and so far no one has been punished, although Mr. Jethmalani is on record for making the statement as given above!  And the chances are no one will be punished!  Court dates have already been changed numerous times because Mr.L.K. Advani has consistently failed to show up for the hearings! But interestingly enough the BJP spokesman M. Venkaiah Naidu still has the audacity to issue a statement regarding Rabri Devi (April 5, 2000 issue of The Times of India),  “It is a serious charge of moral turpitude against her,” BJP spokesman M. Venkaiah Naidu said. “A person charged of misusing her personal position to illegally amass wealth can hardly be entrusted with governance of the state,” he added. Her continuing in such a responsible post was also unethical, and “she should immediately step down”.  Does this imply that a person can continue as the Home Minister even though he has been charge-sheeted, but cannot as a Chief Minister ?
 

  The deception and distortions continue, and the Sangh Parivar continues in its desire to implement its agenda.  Very recently, the focus and the wrath of the Sangh Parivar has been directed against the Christian population.  Frontline ( Vol. 16:No. 3, Jan. 30-Feb. 12, 1999) has reported that the RSS, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Shiv Sena and other Hindutva forces have been engaged in systematic intimidation of minority communities from March 1988 onwards. This activity has concentrated mostly in Gujrat and Maharashtra and gives some additional insights to the Sangh Parivar's agenda and modes of operation.  The vast majority of such attacks were aimed at Christians.  In one incident the VHP members even attacked a group of human rights activists mistaking them for missionaries.  Over 76 such attacks have been documented, and many more instances of similar crimes have been reported but not verified.  The strategy has been, as is the norm with the Sangh Parivar, to spread distorted facts and outright lies, lies about forced conversions with the intention to polarize the community and demonize the Christians.  For example, the Organizer (the RSS Mouthpiece)  claimed that  in  Erode district, in Tamil Nadu, the Christian population increased by 92.8 percent between 1981 and 1991, but the facts are that the population increase was only 2.8 percent during this period.  Actually the Christian population in 1991 declined from 2.20 percent to 1.86 percent!  The Organizer also claimed that the Christian population as a percentage of the total population in the country increased from 2.53 percent to 2.61 percent ( 1981-1991). The census figures, however, disputes this and indicates that the Christian population declined from 2.4 % to 2.32 percent during this period. ( Frontline, vol. 16, issue 25, Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 1999) Does this signify massive conversion?  Although the Sangh Parivar does not and cannot cite valid statistics to support such claim, but does it matter?  An interesting example to illustrates this point is Mr. Pritish Nandy's column 'Double Jeopardy' in the Rediff On theNet ( March 14, 2000). He claims that the Muslim population in India has gone up to 30 percent because of illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Pakistan.  Dilip D'Souza ( Rediff On the Net, March 19 , 2000) very skillfully exposes this deception.  30 percent means that India has 300 million Muslims, which means that almost 2/3rds. of the population of Bangladesh and Pakistan combined must have migrated into India!  Padma Shri Nandy (who is also a Shiv Sena Raj Sabha member) then goes on to say that India has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.  But as D'Souza points out how can this be, because Indonesia has about 193 million Muslims and according to Nandy India has 300 million!  Is this another deception to create hatred, ill will and a motive for the need to 'control' the  Muslim population? Therefore, is this an incentive to create an environment for more killings? Recent killings of the Staines family, stripping of the nuns in Bihar, vandalism against churches and schools etc. will likely to continue because the law enforcement is lax, and in some instances, the laws cannot be enforced because the enforcers are in cahoots with the criminals. The law enforcers are also afraid because there is a fear of retaliation by these goons.  And then there is the official sponsorship of the criminal elements by those in positions of power.  When the police arrested 40 individuals alleged to be involved in the Staines murders, including some belonging to the Bajrang Dal, Mr. L.K. Advani, our respected Home Minister almost immediately announced that there was no involvement of the Bajrang Dal, that the Bajrang Dal members were innocent! Interestingly enough, the police had not even started their investigations yet but the arrested individuals were given a clean chit by the Home Ministry!  Is it any wonder that the Sangh Parivar  has raised two Oriya outfits in Delhi to take the parents of this criminal and neo-Hindu Hero Dara  Singh’s parents from Etawah, U.P. to Mayurbhanj, Orissa, to honor the day the killer appears in thc court. Mind boggling but true!  Is there anyone in India who doubts what the verdict of the court will be in this case?  And yet we continue and carry on with our daily lives as if nothing has happened!  Well, believe me, one day they will come for us and our children, like they came for Graham and his innocent boys, and there will be nodody who will do or can do anything for us!  Just think about it and then resolve to do the right thing!
 

  Why is it that criminals get away with murder and other such crimes and no one is punished?  Is it at all possible for India to exist in such a situation for too long before all hell breaks loose?  Survive, in the sense, that it remains a civilized society,  a society with respect for human dignity and the laws of the land?  It does appear doubtful!  When law breakers become law makers, then who is going to enforce the law?  A case in point.  Recently in Maharashtra assembly, the Shiv Sena and the BJP have created a lot of chaos insisting that Mr. Abu Asim Azmi, President of the Mumbai unit of the Samajvadi Party be arrested and prosecuted under IPC 153 A and IPC 53B (Mid Day, Mumbai, April 5, 2000). for making unpatriotic statements at a meeting.

IPC 153A  stipulates that:' Whoever, by words either spoken or written, promotes or attempts to promote on grounds of religion disharmony, enmity, hatred and will between different religions....shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both'

IPC 153B  stipulates that: ' whosoever, by either spoken or written, makes any imputation that any class of people cannot, by reason of their being members of any religious group, bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India; or asserts or publishes that any class of people shall by reason of their being members of any religious group be denied or deprived of their rights as citizens of India.......shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years or fine or both'.

  A shouting match has been going on between the Sangh Parivar and the other members of the Legislative Assembly.  The situation became so acrimonious that some of the Shiv Sena and the BJP members including Mr.Narayan Rane demanded that another member Mr. Nawab Malik also be arrested as he was also present at the meeting at which Mr. Azmi spoke. Slogans were raised by the Sangh Parivar members ' Hindustan belongs to Hindus , not to Pakistanis' implying that Mr. Malik and Azmi being Muslims, or Muslims in general are Pakistanis. Other slogans raised were 'Hindustan Hinduon ka hai, kissi ka baap ka nahin' and 'Bharatiaya Hindutva Aahe'.  These facts again point to the two things foremost in the minds of the Sangh Parivar.  Establishment of Hindu Raahtra, by deceit, lies and deception, and that the minorities and also other Hindus must adapt to their Hindutva mentality or be treated as foreigners!  It is interesting that the Sangh Parivar, including the Shiv Sena in demanding punishment for Azmi and Malik are forgetting a few things that we all know that they are well aware of.  Firstly, their slogans, by themselves are unlawful under the same IPC codes because they are creating hatred and causing disharmony against a particular religious group, and secondly, their Chief  Mr. Bal Thackeray has  uttered and still continues to utter very venomous and hateful things about the minorities, writes about them in his newspaper Saamna.  Instead of being punished (under the same laws) he is provided with top level security at the expense of the taxpayers!  Justice B. N. Sri Krishna Commission Report has severely criticized Bal Thackeray and his Shiv Sena for their involvement in the Mumbai riots. The report says ' The Shiv Sena Pramukh Bal Thackeray......like a vetran general commanded his loyal Shiv Saniks to retaliate by organized attacks against the Muslims....... The attacks on Muslims by the Shiv Sainiks were mounted with military precision with list of establishments and voter's lists in hand'.  No one has the guts to punish, or question the patriotism of Mr. Thackeray or his Sainiks.  Infact he is given top level protection and place of honor in official functions. Since Mr. Thackeray is not a 'foreigner'  he can say and do anything against the 'foreigner Muslims and Christians with impunity! Madhukar Sarpotdar, another Shiv Sena official ( and there are too many to mention them all) was stopped by the Indian army while traveling in a jeep with six others including his son, in Nirmal Nagar during Mumbai riots. The jeep contained articles such as hockey sticks, choppers and some unlicensed revolvers.  Under the TADA,  possession of an unlicensed weapon is an offense which requires detention and criminal prosecution. But Sarpotdar was let go scott free! Sarpotdar was also identified by suspects as someone who had acquired arms from the Dawood Ibrahim group.  Sanjay Dutt was put in jail for the same crime, but again, nothing happened to Sarpotdar  who now is a member of Parliament.  Hamara Bharat Mahan!

  When violators of the law become laws makers, when the police is unable to or unwilling to prosecute offenders because they are afraid that these offenders will create riots and severe law and order situation in the city, then woe be to such a state!
 
 

  People who love and care about India should open their eyes and stop this destruction of our Motherland!  This land of Gautam, Gandhi, Nehru, Azad, of Peer Ali Khan, Bhagat Singh, Netaji Subhas Bose, Ashfaqullah,  Zakir Hussain  Udham Singh,, Abdul Hamid, Capt. Hanifuddin and many other unsung heroes, must rise up and defend those values that these patriots stood for!  Slowly but surely, India is being converted into a theocratic State. Our cultural diversity is being destroyed, the thousands of years of composite culture is being tarnished. My fellow country men and women, if we don't wise up now and stop these people, the day is not far off when you will wear what they allow you to wear, pray to whomever or whatever they want you to pray to, eat what they will allow you to, live a life style that meets with their approval and not yours!  Slowly but surely they are creeping upon us, as suddenly as my balding head crept upon me!
 

  Make India strong, a country of peace, where little Hindu children walk hand-in-hand with little Muslim and little Christian children and all other children.  Quit being a silent majority and work hard to maintain India as a country which celebrates and honors its diversity, a country free from prejudice and hate and religious rancor!  Secularism  and democracy is the only path to our salvation!  Read the writing on the wall!  There is no other way! God Almighty has put us together in this land, we have to live together in peace and with justice or we will shall perish together in disgrace!  The choice is ours!

  My decision is made!   I have chosen love over hate, peace over violence, justice over injustice and  peaceful coexistence over a lifetime of turmoil.  What about you?