Religious Identity: from Autonomy to Accomadation
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Seeking Offense: Censorship and the Constitution of Democratic Politics in India
SEEKING OFFENSE: CENSORSHIP AND THE CONSTITUTION OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS IN INDIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Ameya Shivdas Balsekar August 2009 © 2009 Ameya Shivdas Balsekar SEEKING OFFENSE: CENSORSHIP AND THE CONSTITUTION OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS IN INDIA Ameya Shivdas Balsekar, Ph. D. Cornell University 2009 Commentators have frequently suggested that India is going through an “age of intolerance” as writers, artists, filmmakers, scholars and journalists among others have been targeted by institutions of the state as well as political parties and interest groups for hurting the sentiments of some section of Indian society. However, this age of intolerance has coincided with a period that has also been characterized by the “deepening” of Indian democracy, as previously subordinated groups have begun to participate more actively and substantively in democratic politics. This project is an attempt to understand the reasons for the persistence of illiberalism in Indian politics, particularly as manifest in censorship practices. It argues that one of the reasons why censorship has persisted in India is that having the “right to censor” has come be established in the Indian constitutional order’s negotiation of multiculturalism as a symbol of a cultural group’s substantive political empowerment. This feature of the Indian constitutional order has made the strategy of “seeking offense” readily available to India’s politicians, who understand it to be an efficacious way to discredit their competitors’ claims of group representativeness within the context of democratic identity politics. -
Intelligence Handling Row Stokes Political Tensions in Sri Lanka
Asia Thursday, April 25, 2019 09 Gunmen kill Pakistan police officer Imran offers Sri Lanka anti-terror assistance Bangladesh marks 6th year of factory protecting polio team in Bunar area disaster with new safety warnings AGENCIES the death toll had risen to REUTERS The police constable was ISLAMABAD 359 from 321 overnight, with Savar: Six years after one of since the disaster, yet nothing PESHAWAR on duty with a polio team in about 500 people wounded at the world’s most devastating has happened to the perpetra- the remote Buner district in PRIME Minister Imran Khan three churches and four hotels factory disasters, moves to cut tors. The victims haven’t had GUNMEN in Pakistan shot northern Pakistan when un- on Wednesday telephoned his hit by the bombers on the day international safety monitoring any justice. Six years later, and killed a police officer known gunmen opened fire, Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil of Easter, media reported on of Bangladesh clothes factories safety issues in the factories guarding a polio immuniza- police chief Irshad Khan Wickremesinghe to offer assis- Wednesday. led Wednesday to warnings of a have not been fixed,” said Joly tion team on Wednesday, Yousafzai said. tance to fight terrorism while Prime Minister Imran Khan new threat to lives. Talukder, a top union leader. the latest attack on efforts “He was shot in the head condemning horrifying suicide called his counterpart to offer Hundreds of workers at- Under intense pressure at to protect children from the and shoulder and died imme- attacks that have killed 359 Pakistan PM Imran Khan. -
Kirtan Leelaarth Amrutdhaara
KIRTAN LEELAARTH AMRUTDHAARA INSPIRERS Param Pujya Dharma Dhurandhar 1008 Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj Ahmedabad Diocese Aksharnivasi Param Pujya Mahant Sadguru Purani Swami Hariswaroopdasji Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Bhuj (Kutch) Param Pujya Mahant Sadguru Purani Swami Dharmanandandasji Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Bhuj (Kutch) PUBLISHER Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple (Kenton-Harrow) (Affiliated to Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Bhuj – Kutch) PUBLISHED 4th May 2008 (Chaitra Vad 14, Samvat 2064) Produced by: Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple - Kenton Harrow All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. © Copyright 2008 Artwork designed by: SKSS Temple I.T. Centre © Copyright 2008 Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple - Kenton, Harrow Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple Westfield Lane, Kenton, Harrow Middlesex, HA3 9EA, UK Tel: 020 8909 9899 Fax: 020 8909 9897 www.sksst.org [email protected] Registered Charity Number: 271034 i ii Forword Jay Shree Swaminarayan, The Swaminarayan Sampraday (faith) is supported by its four pillars; Mandir (Temple), Shastra (Holy Books), Acharya (Guru) and Santos (Holy Saints & Devotees). The growth, strength and inter- supportiveness of these four pillars are key to spreading of the Swaminarayan Faith. Lord Shree Swaminarayan has acknowledged these pillars and laid down the key responsibilities for each of the pillars. He instructed his Nand-Santos to write Shastras which helped the devotees to perform devotion (Bhakti), acquire true knowledge (Gnan), practice righteous living (Dharma) and develop non- attachment to every thing material except Supreme God, Lord Shree Swaminarayan (Vairagya). There are nine types of bhakti, of which, Lord Shree Swaminarayan has singled out Kirtan Bhakti as one of the most important and fundamental in our devotion to God. -
Health Care Providers' Handbook on Hindu Patients
Queensland Health Health care providers’ handbook on Hindu patients © State of Queensland (Queensland Health) 2011. This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/au/deed.en You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute Queensland Health and distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license. For permissions beyond the scope of this licence contact: Intellectual Property Officer Queensland Health GPO Box 48 Brisbane Queensland 4001 Email: [email protected] Phone +61 7 3234 1479 For further information contact: Queensland Health Multicultural Services Division of the Chief Health Officer Queensland Health PO Box 2368 Fortitude Valley BC Queensland 4006 Email: [email protected] Suggested citation: Queensland Health. Health Care Providers’ Handbook on Hindu Patients. Division of the Chief Health Officer, Queensland Health. Brisbane 2011. Photography: Nadine Shaw of Nadine Shaw Photography Health care providers’ handbook on Hindu patients Table of contents Preface .................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................ 5 Section one: Guidelines for health services . 6 1 Communication issues .................................... 7 2 Interpreter services ....................................... 7 3 Patient rights ........................................... -
Taajudin's Diary
Taajudin’s Diary Account of a Muslim author who accompanied Guru Nanak from Makkah to Baghdad By Sant Syed Prithipal Singh ne’ Mushtaq Hussain Shah (1902-1969) Edited & Translated By: Inderjit Singh Table of Contents Foreword................................................................................................. 7 When Guru Nanak Appeared on the World Scene ............................. 7 Guru Nanak’s Travel ............................................................................ 8 Guru Nanak’s Mission Was Outright Universal .................................. 9 The Book Story .................................................................................. 12 Acquaintance with Syed Prithipal Singh ....................................... 12 Discovery by Sardar Mangal Singh ................................................ 12 Professor Kulwant Singh’s Treatise ............................................... 13 Generosity of Mohinder Singh Bedi .............................................. 14 A Significant Book ............................................................................. 15 Recommendation ............................................................................. 16 Foreword - Sant Prithipal Singh ji Syed, My Father .............................. 18 ‘The Lion of the Lord took to the trade of the Fox’ – Translator’s Note .............................................................................................................. 20 About Me – Preface by Sant Syed Prithipal Singh ............................... -
Equality and Justice for 200 Million Victims of the Caste System
INDIA’S UNFINISHED AGENDA: EQUALITY AND JUSTICE FOR 200 MILLION VICTIMS OF THE CASTE SYSTEM HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 6, 2005 Serial No. 109–102 Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 23–825PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Mar 21 2002 13:35 Jan 18, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\AGI\100605\23825.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa TOM LANTOS, California CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, HOWARD L. BERMAN, California Vice Chairman GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York DAN BURTON, Indiana ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American ELTON GALLEGLY, California Samoa ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey DANA ROHRABACHER, California ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey EDWARD R. ROYCE, California SHERROD BROWN, Ohio PETER T. KING, New York BRAD SHERMAN, California STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ROBERT WEXLER, Florida THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York RON PAUL, Texas WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts DARRELL ISSA, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York JEFF FLAKE, Arizona BARBARA LEE, California JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York MARK GREEN, Wisconsin EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon JERRY WELLER, Illinois SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada MIKE PENCE, Indiana GRACE F. -
Unnao: CBI Gets 14 Days More J&K Schools Reopen, U.P
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE DELHI THE HINDU 12 NEWS TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FROM PAGE ONE Unnao: CBI gets 14 days more J&K schools reopen, U.P. govt. told to pay interim compensation of ₹5 lakh for medical expenses attendance thin Legal Correspondent CBI seven to a maximum of New Delhi Supplementary charges likely 14 days to complete the In volatile south Kashmir, remain in detention. Go The Supreme Court on Mon probe. The “accident” that Mr. Malik said only local vernment officials said these day gave the CBI an exten Special Correspondent in the assault and murder occurred on July 28 left the staff attended Pulwama cases were being reviewed. sion of two weeks to com NEW DELHI cases will start on Thursday. 19yearold victim and her la schools but students’ atten Srinagar Secretariat wit plete investigation into a The -
The Saffron Wave Meets the Silent Revolution: Why the Poor Vote for Hindu Nationalism in India
THE SAFFRON WAVE MEETS THE SILENT REVOLUTION: WHY THE POOR VOTE FOR HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Tariq Thachil August 2009 © 2009 Tariq Thachil THE SAFFRON WAVE MEETS THE SILENT REVOLUTION: WHY THE POOR VOTE FOR HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA Tariq Thachil, Ph. D. Cornell University 2009 How do religious parties with historically elite support bases win the mass support required to succeed in democratic politics? This dissertation examines why the world’s largest such party, the upper-caste, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has experienced variable success in wooing poor Hindu populations across India. Briefly, my research demonstrates that neither conventional clientelist techniques used by elite parties, nor strategies of ideological polarization favored by religious parties, explain the BJP’s pattern of success with poor Hindus. Instead the party has relied on the efforts of its ‘social service’ organizational affiliates in the broader Hindu nationalist movement. The dissertation articulates and tests several hypotheses about the efficacy of this organizational approach in forging party-voter linkages at the national, state, district, and individual level, employing a multi-level research design including a range of statistical and qualitative techniques of analysis. In doing so, the dissertation utilizes national and author-conducted local survey data, extensive interviews, and close observation of Hindu nationalist recruitment techniques collected over thirteen months of fieldwork. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Tariq Thachil was born in New Delhi, India. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University in 2003. -
RELIGION and Politics in the Punjab, 1200-1700: the UNITY of CONSTRUCTED RELIGIOUS BOUNDARIESTHROUGH MYSTICISM, Music, and LOCAL Practice
RELIGION AND PoLITIcs IN THE PuNJAB, 1200-1700: THE UNITY OF CONSTRUCTED RELIGIOUS BOUNDARIES THROUGH MYSTICISM, MusIc, AND LOCAL PRAcTICE Sonya Pall Distinction between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims of the Punjab— referring to Northern India, parts of Pakistan and Bengal oftoday—have since modern times been the source of both pride and prejudice. The echoes of stories of the atrocities one group committed against the other during partition of Northern India of the mid-twentieth century still abound today, a frequent topic in films: for example, of train occupants of the “enemy” religion being murdered before reaching safety on the other side of the border; and of parents’ forcing daughters to commit suicide before they could be taken by the enemy’s side.’ More recently, Hindu-Muslim riots took place in the city of Bijnor of the state of Uttar Pradesh in the late 198os and early 199oS and in Gujurat in the early 2ooos.2 Activists ofthe Shiv Sena party ofMaharastra were implicated in the deaths of Muslims during the riots in Mumbai of the early 99o5.3 It is a culture that in many ways draws official lines of separation and exclusion that antagonize followers of other religions—specifically the ‘Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters), DVD, directed by Sabiha Sumar (Turner Classic Movies), 2003. Amrita Basu, ‘Why Local Riots Are Not Simply Local: Collective Violence and the State in Bijnor, India 1988-1993,” Theory and Society 24, no.’, (1995): 35—78;AsgharMi Engineer, “Gujurat Riots in the Light of the History of Communal Violence,” Economic and Political Weekly 37, no. -
Dera Sacha Sauda – Punjab – Haryana – Shiromani Akali Dal – Madhya Pradesh – Sikh Extremism – Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj – State Protection 12 January 2012
Country Advice India India – IND39741 – Dera Sacha Sauda – Punjab – Haryana – Shiromani Akali Dal – Madhya Pradesh – Sikh Extremism – Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj – State Protection 12 January 2012 1. Please provide background information on the activities of the DSS, including how widespread their activities are in India. Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) is a spiritual and social movement founded in 1948 by Shehenshahji Mastana, a Sikh from Balochistan. According to one source, Mastana believed that Sikhism had strayed from its original path by allowing caste to re-establish itself within the religion. Consequently, Mastana established a dera (temple or ashram) near the town of Sirsa, in what is today the Indian state of Haryana. A report in the Himal South Asian states that Mastana founded the dera “with an eye to social reform and spiritual purification – among the Sikhs in particular, but also others in general.” The current leader of DSS, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has reportedly stated that “[o]ur religion is humanity and to help the needy.” The beliefs of the movement are apparently based on a “combination of all religions” and are referred to by DSS followers as insaan. Despite this, DSS is considered by many Sikhs as a breakaway faction of Sikhism, raising the ire of some in the Sikh religious hierarchy and the larger Sikh community.1 Under the leadership of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the DSS has expanded its presence and services beyond the Sikh heartland of Punjab and Haryana, building ashrams and providing services in a number of states and cities -
Sant Kirpal Singh: Guru Nanak's JAP JI
Sant Kirpal Singh: Guru Nanak's JAP JI the JAP JI The Message of Guru Nanak Literal Translation of the original Punjabi text with Introduction and Commentary by Kirpal Singh Dedicated to the Almighty God working through all Masters Who have come and Baba Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj at whose Lotus Feet the translator imbibed sweet Elixir of Holy Naam - the Word First published by Ruhani Satsang, Delhi 1959 http://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/jj/title.htm (1 of 3) [3/6/2003 4:55:48 AM] Sant Kirpal Singh: Guru Nanak's JAP JI Fourth Edition, 1972 No copyright notes: regarding this web published version of "Jap Ji" Spanish translation TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface INTRODUCTION Introduction--What Is Jap Ji? Religion: Objective and Subjective Divine Will--How Is It Revealed? The Objective and Subjective Aspects of Naam Evidences from the Various Religions (i) Christianity (ii) Hinduism (iii) Mohammedanism Sound Differentiated (i) Misery and Pleasure Defined (ii) Advantages Accruing from Inner Communion of the Soul with Naam or Surat Shabd Yoga Simran--What it means and its uses Three Grand Divisions and their features (i) Man Is an Epitome of the Three Grand Divisions of the creation http://www.ruhanisatsangusa.org/jj/title.htm (2 of 3) [3/6/2003 4:55:48 AM] Sant Kirpal Singh: Guru Nanak's JAP JI (ii) Possibility of Communion of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm Regions (iii) Concentration of Spirit-Current Is Necessary Before It Can Rise Into Higher Spiritual Planes (iv) Uses of the Three Restrictions and their Process God-Man (i) Without a God-Man, the Mystery -
'In Our Whole Society, There Is No Equality': Sikh Householding And
religions Article ‘In Our Whole Society, There Is No Equality’: Sikh Householding and the Intersection of Gender and Caste Nicola Mooney Department of Social, Cultural and Media Studies & South Asian Studies Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, Canada; [email protected] Received: 24 December 2019; Accepted: 7 February 2020; Published: 19 February 2020 Abstract: Sikhism is widely understood and celebrated as san egalitarian religion. This follows from its interpretation as a challenge to the caste schema of Hinduism as well as readings which suggest its gender equality. This paper explores the intersection of caste and gender in Sikh society in relation to Guru Nanak’s tenet that Sikhs be householders. Nanak’s view that householding is the basis of religious life and spiritual liberation—as opposed to the caste Hindu framework in which householding relates only to the specific stage of life in which one is married and concerned with domestic affairs—was one of the most important social and ritual reforms he introduced. By eliminating the need for an asceticism supported by householders, or in other words the binary framework of lay and renunciant persons, Nanak envisioned the possibility that the rewards of ascetism could accrue to householders. For Sikhs living at Kartarpur, the first intentional Sikh community, established by Guru Nanak as a place of gathering and meditation, Nanak’s egalitarian ideals were practiced so that women and members of all castes were equal participants. Guru Nanak’s model for social and ritual life presents a radical challenge to the hierarchies and exclusions of Hinduism, and yet, contains within it the basis for ongoing caste and gender disparity for Sikhs, since most Sikhs continue to arrange their householding around caste endogamous marriages and social and domestic arrangements which privilege men.