Mahatma Gandhi divided India on caste lines: Mayawati

MSN India
Saturday, October 27, 200719:09 IST
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Chandigarh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today caused a flutter by saying that Mahatma Gandhi had divided the nation on caste lines whereas Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar had strived to unite all sections of society.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme at the Chandigarh Press Club on her maiden visit to the city as chief minister, Mayawati minced no words to say that the father of the nation, who is credited for leading India's non-violent struggle to end the British rule in the country, had divided the country.
"It was him (Gandhi) who gave the name Harijan to people from lower castes and weaker sections of society. He divided Indian society into two categories - the weaker sections and upper castes," the chief minister said.
"It was Ambedkar who tried to unite all sections of society. I don't want to undermine Gandhi's contribution to the freedom struggle but that also led to the division of Indian society," Mayawati asserted.
She said her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would continue with its ideology to bring the weaker and neglected sections of society to the forefront and also to unite all categories - from weaker sections to religious minorities to upper castes - through its social engineering process.
Mayawati said the BSP, which this year romped home to power with a clear majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, would expand its base and try its social engineering campaign of uniting various sections of society in other states and at the centre.
"As and when the occasion arises and my party workers want me to take control (of power) in Delhi, I must tell you, I will not disappoint them," Mayawati said with a big smile on her face when asked about her prime ministerial ambitions.

K.Venugopal - Mumbai on 10/27/2007 9:07:53 PM

It is Mayawati who is a caste leader. Mahatma Gandhi divided the nation when he acquiesced to Islamic communalism. However, at a time when the so-called lower castes were looked down upon by the so-called upper castes, Mahatma Gandhi saw God (Hari) in them also and called them Harijans (God's people) to wipe off the stigma against them. But Hari is of Hindu connotation. Thus calling them Harijans is opposed by those who are anti-Hindus. Ambedkar had ridiculed Rama. And today Mayawati wants to install statutes of Periyar, another person who excelled in insulting Rama and all Hinduism. However, Ambedkar eventually saw merit in the larger Hindu culture and refused to convert outside it. Mayawati's mentor Kanshiram proffered a toilet to a mandir at Ramjanmabhumi, which gives a clue of what Mayawati herself thinks about Ram. Till the only truly nationalist party in India, the BJP, gets its act together, fissiparous caste and communal politics will seem to be gaining the upper hand.

P.V.Hamza

I first met P.V. Hamza when I popped into his shop Peevee Stores in Cherpalcherry way back in 1970. I wanted to buy a bottle of brylcreem so that with the bill I could enter a contest. He was game enough to give me a bill for a large bottle though I only bought a small bottle, in order that I may enter the contest in style. That's P.V. Hamza, ever the sport, ever understanding and ever in the know of how to influence folks. From that time on I never failed to turn up at his shop to say hello to him till I left for the Gulf in 1975. Fom then on our contact became rare and far between. I last met him in May 07 when I went to his house, the one you see in this map. A gorgeous house indeed but not surprising if you consider the personality behind it. If he had shown a keen interest in politics, I am sure he would have become a minister. He is man of great calibre.

[Wrote in Wikimap entry.]

Tranaam and Paritranaam

The differentiation of "tranaam" and "paritranaam" in this blog is sheer genius. The avtaar does not just protect us from an impending evil, He protects us completely. Which means, He also makes us aware of the relevance of evil in the scheme of things. That is to say, He leaves us capable of handling evil ourselves in future. If it was just tranaam, we would be dead without the avtaar. But because the avtaar performed the magic of paritranaam, we have now become empowered to handle evil by merely reliving the personality of the avtaar from our memories. This is why an avtaar needs to come only "yuge yuge", from age to age. In between, his memories are sufficient. Therefore it is our duty to pass on the memories (culture) of the avtaar to our succeeding generations. Seen in this light, the activities of Hindutva is sacred activity.

[Posted in Jayaraman's blog]

My concept of God

Venu said...
I do not deny the existence of God. Only, I do not accept that God is something that is separate from us. It is what we are, in essence. If we posit a God separate from and outside us, it is only as a matter of convenience to grasp the idea of Godhood. But eventually we would have to realize that we have within us the power of the ultimate and we would have to awaken to the divinity that we are. Believing is not enough, we have to realize. The Semitic religions have done the greatest harm in stunning man’s spiritual search into mere believe. Actually, except for the Advaitic teaching, all religions are at the level of idol worship. In the Hindu tradition alone the seeker is encouraged beyond idols. To both Christianity and Islam it is blasphemy to go beyond idols. Which is particularly ironic in the case of Islam because it claims to be dead against idol worship.

[Posted in reply to a blog comment on my blog.]