Book Review – 26/11 Unforgiven

It’s a story of rage, retribution, justice and more than that, the torment of a common man who yearns for vengeance for his personal loss – it’s a chance for every Indian to live that vicarious dream he would have fantasized at some point or the other when the government, its elected representatives, a few fellow Indians, and all other possible institutions fail him.

The story is a fictionalized account of what happened during and after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The overall facts like Pakistan’s involvement in the attacks, Hafeez Saeed, Kasab issue, India’s reaction, etc. have all been kept intact but a fictionalized story is woven around the narrative that all of us know of. 

Vikram Maheshwari, the protagonist is a successful entrepreneur and a son of a military veteran of 1971 war, happens to be with his wife and their only daughter in the famous Taj hotel on the fateful night of 26th November 2008. A handful of terrorists from Pakistan launch attacks at multiple places of Mumbai and take the city hostage. They kill Vikram’s wife and daughter and while Vikram himself escapes very narrowly. 

Vikram’s whole world comes crashing down – the only two people he loved the most in the world have been killed mercilessly in cold blood for no mistake of theirs. He hopes the government would take avenge the loss of 170+ of its people – any strong and proud nation would wreak revenge, not seek justice – as per Vikram. But the lily-livered actions of the government of the day boggles him, bothers him. The candle marches by the peace brigade, the ‘spirit of Mumbai’, the romanticizing of being victims, and the whole city going about its business as usual, makes his blood boil. 

He refuses to be the victim and decides to take things into his own hands. He is doubly convinced that trusting the government to pay back Pakistan in its own coin is futile. He teams up with his ex-employee Farzana and her terrorist brother Zakir who has links with a prominent Islamic terrorist organization of India. Through Zakir, he learns the masterminds behind the 26/11 attacks and makes a detailed plan to kill them.

ACP Ajay Dixit comes to know of Vikram’s plans to kill the mastermind of 26/11 attacks who also happens to be the high commissioner of Pakistan! This ensures a cat and mouse game between ACP Dixit and Vikram. Whether or not Vikram becomes successful in his mission, what happens to Farzana, and Zakir forms the next part of the story. 

Manish Jaitly who also happens to be an ex-military officer has produced a gripping story in the form of 26/11 unforgiven. His contempt for the campaigns like “Aman ki Aasha”, the bizarre theory and the government’s tacit support of linking of the Mumbai attacks with RSS, an overall laxity in the government's response have been pronounced in the attitude of the protagonist, Vikram Maheshwari.

The book excels in weaving a gripping tale with a fast pace but may lack in the in-depth character development of important characters of the narrative. But as mentioned before, the reader gets the vicarious sense of justice which seems so elusive in the real world, where the state is filled with a multitude of pusillanimous men masquerading as pacifists.

Book Review – The myth of Hindu Terror

What's common between Shivraj Patil, Digvijay Singh, P. Chidambaram, AR Anthulay, etc.? If you think the common factor is that they are all from Congress, better think again. Alright. I'll add one more name - Ramachandra Guha, the self-proclaimed scholar, Nehru-Dynasty sycophant, and hagiographer. Still didn't get? Let me reveal - they all in some capacity are the procreators and purveyors of the myth of non-existent "Hindu Terror" or "Saffron Terror". The whole echo chambers of the carefully cultivated ecosystem of Congress reverberated with the sound of Saffron for some years and they still do.

The book runs in two levels - one that covers the broader aspect of setting the tone for the narrative of Hindu terror and the other of the author, RVS Mani and his first-hand experience dealing with the dispensation at that point in time. It's the story of sitting government taking sides, abandoning neutrality, twisting facts and painting the majority religion as evil without a shred of evidence, or worse - manufacturing or fixing evidence to suit its agenda and narrative of the day. The "secular narrative" that was run by the government, the author concurs - had the potential of destroying the social fabric to shreds.

The author touches upon the concept of 'other governing elites' propounded by Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto on the theme of the dominant coalition; the dominant coalition consisted of political elites, retired public servants, members of the judiciary, non-governing elites from corporate, media and social activists and NGO's. These entities collectively form public opinion. This public opinion will be used as a ruse for public policy. This is relevant to Indian context because one can remember the power the unconstitutional group NAC exerted on the UPA government. This group consisted of all the elites that Pareto mentions and exerted inordinate influence on the government and many times acted as a proxy cabinet. The framing of the narrative by the government is validated in many cases such as Ishrat Jahan story, J & K narrative, Binayak Sen story, and the story of arms loot in Maharashtra.

The seeding of Hindu terror

It was in the year 2006 that the first seed of saffron terror was sown. The author was an undersecretary in MHA and this one time, all the officers of the Internal Security division were in Pakistan. Since all the seniors were unavailable, the author was called for by the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil. He was accompanied by two others - Digvijay Singh, ex-CM of Madhya Pradesh and Hemanth Karkare, Police officer who later got killed in 26/11 attacks. Shivraj Patil was uninterested and unconcerned in the conversation but the other two were 'seeking information' about the recent terror attacks. From the intermittent conversation between the other two, it was clear that they were not happy with the information 'a particular religious group was involved in most of the terror attacks'. This was the information from the investigating agencies. But the two were clearly not happy with the intelligence input the at Muslims were aiding terrorist. They wanted to take control and change the narrative - there were repeated references to Nanded, Bajrang Dal etc. 

The investigations in some of the cases like Malegaon bomb blast, Samjauta express blast etc. by the local agencies were taken over by the NIA and were given Hindu twist. The author gives cases after cases of how facts were twisted and engineered to paint them saffron. An agency like ATS which was headed by Hemant Karkare which was not successful in solving 2006 Mumbai blast even after 5-6 months was given the responsibility of solving Malegaon blasts. Till then, Ahl-e-Hadith was the responsible party for the blasts. But once ATS took over, the entire narrative changed (Recent Acquittal of Sadhvi Pragya reaffirms the position that ATS and its chief at that point in time were dishonest, to say the least)

26/11 blasts

By any yardsticks you can think of, 26/11 incident of Mumbai was a monumental mismanagement on all levels - the politicians, security, media, bureaucrats, etc - that a group of 10 terrorists was able to keep the world's largest democracy as hostage for a few days and kill people willfully, speak volumes on the lapses we had. 

The author gives the background of the attacks - saying there were definite intel inputs saying that there were chances of a terrorist attack through our porous coastline. In his detailed assessment of the incident and the chain of incidents - starting from Home Secretary-level talks in Pakistan where the entire security weights were present on the same day as the attack, the episode of Chitkala Zutshi (additional home secretary who escaped the attack unscathed even though present in Taj hotel and was privy to information of the attack before the attack), strong possibility of local help to terrorists - he strongly says there is a mole or moles at an institutional level from the government who helped the terrorists, siding with the enemy. This is a disturbing assessment and a testimony as to what kind of people governed us during the said period. 

Furthering the narrative 

The inefficient and disinterested Home Minister Shivraj Patil was replaced by another inefficient minister (who was a big failure as Power Minister was promoted for inefficiency) Sushil Kumar Shinde. After a while, P. Chidambaram (PC) was made the home minister. He assumed the role with all pomp and always assumed monopoly over wisdom. For eg, he handpicked the DG for NIA - this he did by throwing all the well-laid procedures in the air. He used NIA to propagate the narrative of Hindu terror repeatedly. 

PC misused his office when made sure parts of David Headley's testimony was excised where he clearly stated that Ishrat Jahan and other companions of hers were terrorists, fidayeen whose sole job was to assassinate Narendra Modi. In his speech at CM conference, in Darul-al-Islam, he repeated the narrative of Saffron terror.

The intelligence reports reported that the flow of funds to terrorists, the growth of madrasas in India-Bangladesh and India-Nepal border by organizations like Jamat and HuJI. Major funding was from Saudi and Kuwait. These reports were never paid heed to. Efficient police officers like Rajinder Kumar who identified and neutralized many sleeper cells were harassed. From Ishrat Jahan case to POTA repeal ordinance UPA was interested in bailing out the terrorists. 

Conclusion

The author was harassed and was constantly pestered by the government even when he moved out of MHA - he took a stand saying the Delhi police were innocent in the Batla encounter (a fatwa was issued against him). He was almost kidnapped, traded - but somehow escaped -  for Ajmal Kasab (the only terrorist of 26/11 to be captured alive)

It was a dangerous coterie which ruled India from 2004-14. It was the time India witnessed the highest number of terror attacks - Mumbai attacks, Samjauta blasts, Malegaon blasts, IISc blasts, Batla house encounter, Delhi, Modasa, Rampur blasts, 26/11 attacks, Ishrat Jahan case etc. and many more. It was a weak government at the center - Manmohan Singh as PM - controlled by the proxy NAC calling shots, Shinde as Home Minister, indecisive defense minister AK Anthony. At another level, it was the most sinister government after independence which had its own divisive agenda which pushed the country into the deep abyss. The author has done a great job in uncovering some of the secrets from his 'insider' knowledge and access and thus systematically demolishing the narrative that was carefully built over a decade.

Book Review – Aghora Trilogy

You've heard of the idiom 'packs a punch'. This one does exactly that — it packs a real punch. It's a trilogy written by Robert Svabodha, a disciple of the Aghori Vimalananda. This trilogy will shake you up no matter who you are as the science and technology of Aghora is not for the namby-pamby. It's extreme, it's intense, it's sincere — and of course a lot of room for distortion and misrepresentation, which is happening in most of the places in the name of tantra and others.

Swami Vimalananda, so goes the name of an accomplished Aghori who happens to be a normal businessman from the outside but a practicing Aghori from the inside. The author has chosen not to name the real name of Vimalanada for various reasons. This trilogy – At the left hand of God, Kundalini and the law of Karma – is a collection of various aphorisms, stories, and real-life events happened with Aghori Vimalananda. As with any sincere spiritual discipline, Aghora is a subjective science and to be learnt from a guru and cannot be learnt from a book or something. Caution has to be exercised by the readers as the subject matters discussed have a lot of gravity.

At the left hand of god

The first book introduces you to the fundamental aspects of Aghora – Shiva, Shakti, tantra, yantra, mantra and explain the concepts lucidly, faithful to the original Sanskrit words and ideas. I was impressed when I read it for the first time that a westerner had the almost seemingly thorough understanding of some of the ancient terminologies, which is otherwise very alien to a western mind.

Usually, meat, sex, and alcohol are proscribed in most of the spiritual paths considering them as the reasons for the downfall of men. But Aghora uses the same thing as stepping stones for reaching the spiritual pinnacle. This is where the catch is – very few, say one or two out of a hundred will be successful, the rest will end up as addicts or maniacs. It’s like walking on a sword, not for all. The book gives enough warnings on the fake tantriks, gurus and wrong methods and the hazards all these pose.

For me the chapter on Rnanubandhana captivated the most. The effect of Rna, or in simple words debt is explained in a detailed way. Once you enter the realm of Rna, you also enter the realm of Karmas of different kinds, fate, destiny etc. It’s a fascinating set of topics.

Kundalini

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogposts, anyone who has even primary knowhow on Indian spirituality would have a preliminary understanding of Kundalini. Kundalini is dormant energy present in everyone. It is dormant because unless it is evoked by continuous and conscious practice, it would be inaccessible. For a large part of the population, it would be useless because a very few people make a conscious effort of making use of it. It is often compared to sleeping serpent, as meddling with it without required knowledge could be lethal. The nadis and the main chakras and the raising of the Kundalini are explained with details. This book has enough warnings for the uninitiated who may try to test with Kundalini Shakthi.

It starts with the brief introduction to other esoteric schools similar to Aghora — Goddess Sekhmet in Egypt, the goddess Hera in Greece, the Goddess Kapo in Hawaii are similar to that of Goddess Kali in India. This part dwells deeper into various kinds of yantras, design & construction of Homa Kundas (fire pits) and their functionalities.

In terms of information, this book has more than the first installment. It is an excellent, exhaustive and captivating read.

The law of Karma

If you are a fan of horse racing, you would instantaneously fall in love with this installment wherein you can find a great deal of description on anything and everything related to it — from the different breeds of horses to jockeys, the training, betting etc. Vimalananda had a great passion for horse racing as it was briefly introduced in the previous parts.

This part beautifully explores the law of Karma and its effects on us, our inescapability from it, Rnanubandanas et al. Vimalananda explores all these by allegories, theories and live examples. I particularly liked the way in which the law of Karma is covered in all the details. It makes a fascinating read.

Conclusion

This book bursts many myths successfully. It touches the subjects which are considered ‘taboo’ and I won’t be surprised if some people are repulsed by it. It is easily one of the sensational books I have ever read. This has the necessary depth and dimension to be taken as a serious work. I admire the way subject matter – whatever it may be – is treated: raw, unabashed, without any inhibitions.

I know of the rhetoric of the greatness of Indian culture, its spiritual traditions et al. These kinds of works convince me that ‘rhetoric’ is actually true and echoes what Sadhguru once said about India: no other culture has looked into life in such depth as Indian culture has had.

No matter if you are a serious seeker or ‘just curious’, you will find this series interesting. This book is no ‘one-time read’. It’s good to be referenced for a long time. 

Book Review – Indian trilogy of V.S. Naipaul

To understand the Indian trilogy that V.S Naipaul wrote, we need to first understand some background of the author. This may not be true for all the novels or travelogues but it certainly is true for this particular one. His ancestors travelled from India to Trinidad for good – Some three generations ago. This makes him ethnically an Indian but disconnected geographically but somewhat connected through the vestiges of culture and customs that went into Trinidad along with this forbearers. But he is interested in India – not because he loves it or anything of that sort –but he wants to understand his ancestral land from which his grandfather and others migrated centuries ago. This quest of wanting to know led him to travel to India and he stayed in India for years and this trilogy is the fruit of the quest.

An area of Darkness 

The first among the three installments is a deeply depressing account of the author’s first encounter with India where he faces a sense of estrangement – culturally and otherwise. This is quite normal for any westerner who visits India for the first time even today, not to mention how it would have been in the 60s where things were even worse. They will experience a cultural shock, a kind of estrangement which most people cannot handle. India is much beyond that, India is much deeper than that. He concurs in the very introduction that India was never his country and never will be. But he can’t stop caring for it for whatever reason. There is an element of concern, in his observation and analysis.

He describes the squalor, poverty, corruption among other things that the country is mired in an objective way. As mentioned before, this is a depressing account. In the sense, India looks like a static and decayed society (true in a sense, whatever may be the reason) in Naipaul’s portrayal which is beyond any kind of redemption. If anyone doesn’t understand the intent of the author, it’s easy to lump this work among the others which deliberately show India in a bad light. But that’s not the case here.

India: A Wounded Civilization

This is written around the time of emergency, 1975. By his own admission, this is the shortest book he has ever wrote – 161 pages. Here he explores the country which was invaded multiple times and the lasting impact the invaders had and continue to have in the land, the average Indian psyche, the attitude with which Indians face any problem. 

He brings in many contemporary authors and their works to make his case, although he doesn’t take them at their face value, he uses them to penetrate into the Indian mind. Some of the contemporary writers, especially like that of R.K. Narayan have a very good insight into the Indian way of life and have depicted it so very well in their novels. The observation that impressed me was – how some Hindus interpret the philosophy of Karma in a fatalistic sense and use it as a way to escape from performing any action or taking any responsibility. Forget solving the problem, many times they don’t even acknowledge there is one. In comparison, this work is not as pessimistic as the previous one.

India: A Million Mutinies Now

The last in the Indian trilogy is also the longest one (of over 600 pages) and written in the year 1990. He visits the places he had visited 2 decades ago and meets the people he had met then. He sees the changes the country is subjected to in these two decades. He traverses across the country – from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, meeting all kinds of people – the Naxals, the Dravidianists, the Dalits, the Brahmins, the Shias, the feminists etc. and tries to understand the nation through their own personal experiences, struggles – the result is a riveting story which slowly reveals the nation with its admixture of immense complexities and possibilities.

The past narratives meet the present challenges and dilemmas and how some of them correlate to the progress of India as a nation. Although there is negativity around, there is also a glimmer of hope in this book much unlike the previous works.

Conclusion

Let’s face it – India is an immensely complex country to understand – even for Indians, not to talk about an average Occidental. Naipaul is uniquely placed in this task. He is a Westerner for all practical purposes with long detached cultural root in this ancient land. Naipaul has tried to do this daunting task with his travels across the country, perspicacious observations, numerable interviews and he is successful in building a new narrative from the facts, stories and observations arising out of these. 

There is unabashed precision in his observation but there is also empathy and concern for the people and for the country. Naipaul is recognized in the world as one of the best writers of travelogues and novelists of our times. Reading this work will make you realize why it is so. 

Book Review - Himalayan Blunder

Authored by Brigadier John Dalvi, Himalayan Blunder is an important book in understanding the Indian humiliation in Sino-Indian war of 1962 – the men who were responsible for it, the deeply flawed policies, and the back ground environment in which the possibility of war was slowly brewing. It’s a curtain raiser to the Sino-Indian war; it’s the angry truth about India’s most crushing military disaster – as proclaimed rightly in the cover page. 

To put it in simple terms, the defeat of India in the hands of Chinese was the outcome of deeply flawed national policy; a policy that was guided from none other than ‘pandit’ Nehru. That’s the genesis from where all other problem emanates. It’s a refusal to acknowledge that there is a crises and that’s needed to be responded to instead indulging in Ostrich-like behavior.

Annexation of Tibet and aftermath –

Any nation which has concerns for its national security cannot remain a mute spectator to the events in its neighboring country. That’s what India chose to do when China annexed Tibet in 1950. Tibet was like a buffer zone for India against its enemies, vital to its strategic defense. India was always considered secure in the North because of the mighty Himalayas which was considered impregnable. But this impregnability was greatly compromised with the annexation of Tibet. Sardar Patel wrote a prophetic letter to Nehru about the Chinese problem in 1950, just one month before his death. Brig. Dalvi says that letter deserves a place in any analysis of Sino-Indian war.

India under Nehru was delusional about the imminent Chinese threat. It continued to make believe that China was a good friend of India and there can never be any was with China even though there might be minor differences. Instead of assessing the problems in strategic and military viewpoint, India decided to rest on hope – for which it had to pay dearly in 1962.

Lack of direction, lack of leadership

As mentioned earlier, India never acknowledged the imminent threat China posed let alone develop a strategic response to it. When this is the case, we can’t expect any serious preparation in the military ranks and files. Every decision was taken on an ad-hoc basis; there was no serious long term strategic plan whatsoever. Even though many military officers could see the cardinal disregard for the military principle they were unable to do so owing to political pressures.

But on the other side, China was thoroughly prepared for any kinds of escalations – in terms of manpower, transport, food supply etc. When the Chinese were feverishly preparing for a possible invasion and combat, India was dilly-dallying and hoping that nothing would happen. It was only when the Chinese moved into the Indian Territory and occupied a portion of Ladakh, India was alerted. Then, the military reactions begin – which was actually done to pacify agitated public opinion, nothing more. India was giving bombastic statements externally, but internally hoping everything would end peacefully. This kind of dual aims or confused aims never give any proper directions to the war.

With lack of preparedness in all fronts, lacking any cohesive national policy, lacking political leadership, having to confront a mighty enemy, Indian army – which was once hailed as one of the best in the world was humiliated at the hands of Chinese in October 1962 and had to concede thousands of square miles which is not recovered till date. This was no fault of the army which actually fought in the toughest of the terrains and with the mightiest of the enemies and with bare minimum resources. Many (including the author) were taken as Prisoners of War.

Brig. Dalvi lists all the guilty men who were responsible for this debacle. It all starts from Nehru, defense minister Menon, the ministry of defense et al. When the confrontation happened, the two important people of the country – the PM, and the defense ministers were not in the country tells tales how serious these men were about the happenings in the country. Instead, Nehru was concerned about the world problems and assumed the leadership position in NAM and neglected the domestic and defense issues. After the death of Sardar Patel, Nehru and his policies were virtually unchallenged and uncontested. This proved to be detrimental.

The war of 1962 was a rude awakening for India. It was a call to formulate a realistic foreign policy. Brig. Dalvi sums it up as “1962 was a national failure of which every Indian is guilty. It was a failure in higher direction of war, a failure of the opposition, a failure of the general staff (myself included): it was a failure of responsible public opinion and the press. For the government of India, it was a Himalayan Blunder at all levels”

Book Review - How India's Intellectuals Spread Lies

The introduction of the book says:

This book takes a rare, hard look at India's leading public intellectuals whose greatness is taken for granted but whose sophistry is overlooked. Ravi Shanker Kapoor exposes them as cowardly thinkers incapable of challenging conventional wisdom.

Importantly, it's not the personal follies and foibles of these worthies that the author finds troubling but their unquestioning acceptance of failed Leftist theories, and slavish adherence to politically 'correct' ideas. Smug in their acceptance by an adoring Left-liberal media they are blind to empirical evidence which flies in the face of their positions, oblivious both to opportunities thrown up by changed times and to the clear and present dangers of the status quo, whether it be the scourge of socialism or the malevolence of Islamic terror. Thus the spreading of lies, a betrayal of both their own vacation and of the Indian people

The author uses his pen as a butcher wields his knife. In Kapoor's abattoir, no cow is holy enough to be spared - and no reputation hallowed enough to be revered. Combining journalistic experience with solid scholarship, Kapoor relishes in taking on some of the biggest icons in India's public discourse. His is an original voice.

True to its introduction, the book takes a rare hard look at the leading intellectuals of India in a never before manner and breaks the shallow theories they preach and exposes the sophistry they indulge in.

Public discourse in India is increasingly dominated by the people who are leftists or the people who are left-leaning. This book takes a hard look at the people who muddy already muddied discourse of India – how they insinuate and reduce the public discourse to the level of sloganeering and clichés.

Synopsis:

When the communist utopia was in the making in the erstwhile USSR, many human rights atrocities were a daily happening. Many intellectuals and journalists visited the USSR, but they failed to report things as they were due to their allegiance to an ideology. Lenin coined a term for such people – “Useful idiots”. These are the people who blindly and unquestioningly accept leftist lies. The author, Ravishanker Kapoor likens them to the Sheep in George Orwell’s Animal Farm and also to Gandhari of Mahabharata – who is not born blind but chooses to be blind. India has its own set of useful idiots. In his own words the author has exposed the intellectuals as the sheep in the animal farm, as descendants of Gandhari.

The liberals – that’s what most left leaning intellectuals call themselves as, have perverted the values for which liberalism truly stands for. For instance, liberals traditionally sought to limit the scope of the state action and to prefer non-governmental initiatives wherever possible. But the contemporary liberals would ask for just the opposite – favor an increased scope of state action in areas such as education, health care and social welfare.

In a country where sloganeering is confused with etiquette and platitude with wisdom, it’s hardly surprising shouting passes off as the cry of long-suffering, silent majority – If you ever happen to counter the leftist lies you will be shouted down, as the tyranny of decibels rule the roost. You will be abused - in fact abuse is used as the argument, and the name calling – the anti-poor, a Hindu fundamentalist, a lackey of MNCs. These are the time-tested techniques of the left. One more reason for the left’s success in having a great influence in public discourse is that, it has hijacked the pro-poor agenda. The reading habits of Indians and the intellectual bankruptcy of the so-called Indian right aggravates the matter. So, the leftists are free to spread their canards.

Then, the author takes the intellectuals to task – Arundhati Roy,Jawaharlal Nehru, Khushwant Singh, Kuldip Nayar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, P Chidambaram. And puchures their claims, some by empirical proofs and some by effective counter-arguments.

After this, the author explains how the intellectuals spread red propaganda – in most of the cases the liberals act as the B-team of commies. They have an inordinate influence in organizations like NCERT and likes and spread their propaganda and lies through the government prescribed text books and influence the kids at a very early age. The media – is full of liberals and commies - is used as a machinery to spread their canards. Some are born blind, some get afflicted with blindness, and some blindfold themselves. Communists belong to the first category ; liberals and intellectuals belong to the other two categories.

In the concluding chapters, the author explains how communists use guilt as the weapon of mass deception. The leftists saw the society as machinery which can be designed according to some dogmas – dialectical materialism, scientific socialism et al. - rather than as an organism. Communists and left wing intellectuals are the generals of mendacity. Human civilization is the target ; they are softening the target by using the technique of guilt-mongering. The bombardment of lies and white lies continues unabated. More often than not, liberals end up as accomplices of the Left in this war against civilization. They become useful for the commies. That is why Lenin called them “Useful idiots”.

In the final chapter, the author proposes a way out – A theory of Indian conservatism. First he clears off the myths surrounding conservatism. The three strands of conservatism are – open society, free economy and limited government. The origins of conservatism and the three strands are explained at some length. The author says there is a need to develop conservatism as an ideology in India and argues Indian conservatism is inherent and unspoken. In fact, Indian conservatism – based on individual liberty and focusing on open society, free market, and limited government – be in tune with will not only be in tune with the traditions, conventions, and intellectual history of the country but also allow them to grow in a healthy manner. And the final warning – The nation is doomed unless a sizable part of its Illuminati embrace conservatism wholeheartedly.

Conclusion – All in all, I found this book as one of the best reads in the recent times. This book should be read to understand the muddied waters of political discourse. The writing style of the author – holding no cows holy, calling spade a spade – endears him to the readers. This book sets the tone for the much needed alternative discourse in India.

Book Review - Falling Over Backwards

Gujjars’ protest in Rajasthan to reclassify them as a scheduled tribe from other backward class turns violent ; Mayawati demands reservations for Dalits in private sector ; The newly formed government promises increase in reservation for backward castes – I am sure you would have read/heard these kinds of news. Did you ever wonder as to how did we land in such a soup? Why many castes have fought and tried to project themselves as backwards? What is the root cause of this phenomenon called reservation? This essay of Arun Shourie – “Falling over backwards” attempts to study the phenomenon in detail.

The theme of the book is centered on caste-based reservations – what the constitution actually says about it, the purpose of reserving jobs based on castes, how political class has turned reservation into an ax to grind, the judiciary’s part in it, the effect it has on the effective functioning on the administration and so on.

The book starts with the letter of Jawaharlal Nehru to the chief ministers in 1950 in which he warned about the dangers the caste-based reservations would loom the public at large. He was quoted saying – “This way lies not only folly, but disaster”. But as the history of independent India has shown, the warning went unheeded.

Some primary areas the essay focuses on:

• Constitutional provisions : What the constitution actually says about caste-based reservations, what is made out of them
• Social structure and dynamics of castes in India – past and present
• From reservation for jobs, to the admissions in colleges to promotions – how all rules are thrown to the air, how warnings against it went unheeded, all in the name of “Social Justice”
• The controversial system used for promotion – the roster system – how it works, the effects it has with many real life examples.
• The opportunism of the political class, the activism of some “progressive” judges – the collective effect it has on the efficiency of the machinery of administration

The original intention of reservation and the time period of it have long been forgotten and it’s used for making hay for the politicians. There is perhaps no single politician worth his salt who hasn’t made use of reservation to his or his party’s ultimate ends. That which should have really empowered people has come to favor only a selected few and has been descended as a weapon in the armor of political class. The trend of increasing the percentage of reservations does what many judges had warned about – reverse discrimination. Reservation - which was supposed to create an equal society, which was supposed to abolish the caste differences, has only perpetuated the very ills that it was fighting against. But all the ills of reservations are passed off in the name of "social justice".

Arun Shourie does a neat job in – accumulating the facts (a laborious one, which involves thousands of court cases and judgments), analyzing them (which involves separating facts from fiction, puncturing the non-factual claims of the pro-reservationists with data and undeniable proofs), proposing a way out from all. Shourie is known for his meticulous research and rigorous analysis. This essay bears testimony to the fact.

No matter if one is for reservation or against reservation, this book is a compulsory study for all who are interested in knowing the caste-based reservations in India. But let me warn you – the book is huge, can get repetitive at times because of the underlying subject. It establishes that the grave traps are usually laid in the premises of lofty ideas. Most importantly, it gives a clarion call to the ills of reservations with facts hitting you in the face and proposes a way out.

Book Review - The End of Faith

Introduction:

End of faith is a book by Sam Harris. Going by the title, I had assumed it to be a treatise on atheism like- say- The God Delusion of Richard Dawkins. But to my surprise it didn’t turn out to be one. But instead it was a work which diagnosed the phenomenon called faith (or belief) and its various manifestations from various dimensions and its impact on the world. Having proficiency in neurology and allied sciences, Sam Harris does a good job in it.

Synopsis:

First of all, the concept of belief is examined with all its psychological clutches that hold us.

“A BELIEF is a lever that, once pulled, moves almost everything else in a person's life. Are you a scientist? A liberal? A racist? These are merely species of belief in action. Your beliefs define your vision of the world; they dictate your behavior; they determine your emotional responses to other human beings.”

Then the focus shifts from belief to the next obvious territory: the territory of religion. Sam Harris warns about the religious bigotry and its effects.

“It seems that if our species ever eradicates itself through war, it will not be because it was written in the stars but because it was written in our books”

The primary focus is on the Abrahamic religions which have a common root: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All three have many similarities and all have exclusive truth claims. Sam Harris goes to the roots of ‘holy’ scriptures of these religions and examines them. He rebukes the truth monopolies the religions claim to have.

“The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology, and art even to be entertained—as the beliefs, rituals, and iconography of each of our religions attests to centuries of cross- pollination among them.”

While examining these original texts (Old Testament, New Testament, Koran, Sunnah etc), he shows how they are inherently intolerant and inspires violence against the non-believers. The episodes of medieval Christianity: the never ending witch-hunts, inquisition, burning heretics at the stake make for a nauseating reading and makes one wonder how much blood have spilled for the sake of belief.

Then his gaze turns towards east. He observes, in the east, non-sectarian spiritual traditions have developed which never developed in the west in a full scale and ponders on the reason. In his own words: 

“If there is an equally arresting image that accounts for why nondualistic, empirical mysticism seems to have arisen only in Asia, I have yet to find it. But I suspect that the culprit has been the Christian, Jewish,and Muslim emphasis on faith itself. Faith is rather like a rhinoceros, in fact: it won't do much in the way of real work for you, and yet at close quarters it will make spectacular claims upon your attention.”

He then dwells on the issue of conscious mind, the functioning and the intricacies and all the exhortations of western philosophers like Descartes, Pascal, and Sartre et al. Then he makes an arresting conclusion:

“ Nevertheless, when the great philosopher mystics of the East are weighed against the patriarchs of the Western philosophical and theological traditions, the difference is unmistakable: Buddha, Shankara, Padmasambhava, Nagarjuna, Longchenpa, and countless others down to the present have no equivalents in the West. In spiritual terms, we appear to have been standing on the shoulders of dwarfs.”

Then the focus is shifted to Buddhism and the long tradition of Buddhists to focus on the mind and its functioning. He posits Buddhism in the high pedestal among religions which is rational and most of the claims can be empirically verified. He mocks the difference in understanding of the universe and its functioning between Eastern and western tradition thus:

“It is no exaggeration to say that meetings between the Dalai Lama and Christian ecclesiastics to mutually honor their religious traditions are like meetings between physicists from Cambridge and the Bushmen of the Kalahari to mutually honor their respective understandings of the physical universe.”

He makes a very important distinction which most miss: The difference between mysticism and religious tradition. To paraphrase him –

“MYSTICISM is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion .The mystic has reasons for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. The roiling mystery of the world can be analyzed with concepts (this is science), or it can be experienced free of concepts (this is mysticism). Religion is nothing more than bad concepts held in place of good ones for all time. It is the denial—at once full of hope and full of fear—of the vastitude of human ignorance.”  

He nails the coffin called faith thus :

“Faith is simply the license they give themselves to keep believing when reasons fail When rational inquiry supports the creed it is championed; when it poses a threat, it is derided; sometimes in the same sentence. Faith is the mortar that fills the cracks in the evidence and the gaps in the logic, and thus it is faith that keeps the whole terrible edifice of religious certainty still looming dangerously over our world.”

Conclusion:

This is one of the few books written in the spirit of free enquiry. Usually the books which take critical position on religion take the side of atheism, and eventually end up advocating it. But this book is an exception. While looking the faith, religion and the dangers which loom from it, it also looks at the possibility of expansion of human consciousness through non-sectarian spiritual traditions and methods. It’s a strong, scholarly work rooted in reason, science and rationality.

Book Review - Breaking India

Before starting anything, sample this : 2 authors, 5 years of research, 476 pages of data and analysis, bibliography of 61 pages, references to innumerable websites, books,and articles. Even this doesn't say how serious and important is this work -> Breaking India - Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines. Authored by Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan this work talks about various kinds of threats that are systematically unleashed by various coordinated forces on India and its religion. Before reading anything further, go to this official website to know more. 

The map shown is what the authors warn about in the book.

Introduction: 

There are global forces which don't like the idea of integrated India and constantly try to balkanize India so that balkanized India serves to fulfill their ultimate ends. Rajiv Malhotra calls these forces centrifugal forces. There are some interests which want to see India as one united country and these Malhotra calls as centripetal forces. Needless to say, centrifugal force that India is subjected to is far more stronger than the centripetal force which tries to unite India.

What are the centrifugal forces that want India to be divided and sub-divided? Though there are innumerable forces, institutions, individuals, all invariably fall into these three category -

1) Islamic radicalism linked with Pakistan
2) Maoists and Marxist radicals supported by China via intermediaries such as Nepal
3) Dravidian and Dalit identity separatism being fostered by the west in the name of human rights.

As the authors say in the introduction, this book focuses on the third issue -
the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India.

Synopsis:

The range of topics, institutions, individuals that are covered are huge that just for convenience, I have divided the issues raised by this book into these sub-headings (no way it's comprehensive)

1) Creation of identities, faultlines 

India is a diverse nation comprising of various cultures, languages, identities. But despite so many variations, there is something that creates pan-Indian identity. But the centrifugal forces (several churches, NGOs, individuals) are desperately trying to sever this pan-Indian identity and create several limited identities in its place.

2) Creation of race theories, their large implications in forming identities

Race theories were the products of colonial constructs of 18th century and are outdated. Still, to this day they are regurgitated to divide and sub-divide India. The creation of Aryan theory is well known and we know how the British used it to justify their dominion. The church and the colonialists have used Biblical myth of Ham to justify both racism and colonialism.

The authors warn of the outcome of creation and manipulations of race identities (master race, slave race having strong parallels with Aryan and Dravidian race theories) citing the examples of Sri Lanka and Rwanda. These two countries witnessed the worst civil wars of history killing thousands of people. 

3) Dravidian and Dalit faultlines

There are consistent efforts to portray Dravidian identity as an unique identity and different from pan-Indian identity. Same goes with the Dalit identity. Every effort is made to keep them apart from mainstream Hinduism and pan-Indian identity. Once the identities are separated from the pan-Indian identity, it can be used to map it to Christianity. So, many high profile churches are involved in this because it ultimately helps in proselytizing.

4) Dravidian Christianity, digesting Hinduism 

Attempts have been made to portray history of Christianity in India as an ancient one starting from the myth of St.Thomas. Just to give you a glimpse of some crackpot theories, sample these:

1.    India is a Dravidian Christian nation.
2.    Veda Vyasa is a Christian missionary.
3.    Shakti is the holy ghost in the christian trinity.
4.    Famed 6 Darshanas, Purva mimansa et al.have christian origin.
5.    Hinduism and Sanskrit were formed in 2nd century A.D.     

Did you say "Are you freaking kidding me?" but yes,these are the kinds of spurious theories which are passing of as scholarship. Basic contention is this: Anything good in Hinduism should be of Christian origin. First they tell Hinduism and Christianity are similar. Then they say Christianity as the pristine,the only truth and there is no salvation without Christ. All these so-called academic exercises are done only to aid conversion.

5) India and Hindu bashing industry of the west

India and Hindu bashing industry of the west is highly lucrative. There are many institutions which are dedicated to do this job. Of course they do it in the name of 'human rights', 'empowerment', 'protection of minorities' etc. There is a huge nexus of this India-bashing industry which uses every possible incident in India in the international circle to portray India and Hinduism in a bad light. These are high paying roles which promises reputation, money, foreign trips etc.

6) Church interests and U.S. direct involvement  

Church has severe interests in India and for its evangelical plans, it has mapped India to be inside the 10/40 window. India falls under the region where church has planned aggressive evangelism. The other major regions which fall under this region are China, Arab countries where proselytizing is outlawed or heavily restricted. So, India becomes the natural target.

To fulfill the mission of 'reaching out to the unreached masses' which is an euphemism for conversion, the church can go to any extent. For instance the Church and Maoists have come together in North-East India to break away from India.

The right-wing politics and lobbying is very strong in the U.S such that they eventually influence the policies of the U.S which can have many far reaching effects on India.

7)  Pan-Islam, China and the west

These are three civilizations which are working for the world's domination. They fight amongst themselves owing to difference in ideology. But when it comes to India, they all come together because they have a common enemy: India and its culture. All these forces have made India an ideological battleground. Truth be told, they have nothing to lose but everything to gain. The increase of Jihadi network in Kerala, the Naxalism in some states, Maoism in the north-east India and the huge infrastructure and networks these forces have created bear testimony to the fact that they are getting more stronger by the day.  


The Ultimatum :

This book should be studied by all who want to see India as one united country. The book is not trying to churn out some conspiracy theories but instead relies on hard,well-documented facts. So, the importance of the book can't be overstated. This book is important in many levels like: strategic,security, policy making etc.

Once you finish the book, you might get a feeling that India is a piece of meat lying on the ground waiting to be devoured by the vultures flying in the sky. The vultures which represent the centrifugal forces are far more equipped, organized, networked than the centripetal forces. The message and gentle warning that the book gives,if simplified could be:'be vigilant,organize,strategize or perish'

My Books Review: June '12

1) Quantum Mystery- This book is written by Rajat Chandra, a physicist and is published by National book trust of India. It is a short book of just over 100 pages which outlines the circumstances that led to the discovery of quantum physics and all the people responsible for its evolution as a subject. A random  excerpt from the book which speaks about the enormous time that has elapsed in the past: “Suppose the whole history of the universe is shrunk to one year, from midnight January 1 to midnight December 31(present). Then the solar system is born around 1st of September. The dinosaurs die out around the noon of December 30. The first direct ancestors of mankind, the hominids, appear around 9 p.m of December 31 and the recorded history of mankind begins just 10 seconds ago. “ 

The book enumerates the success and failure of classical physics in the beginning. Classical physics that’s propounded by Newton, Einstein, and Maxwell is very successful in explaining all the phenomenon of macroscopic world. But the laws of classical physics fail miserably in the microscopic world comprising atoms, molecules, electrons, atomic nuclei and light.

Many important theories that fall under quantum mechanics are briefly discussed like: Uncertainty principle, Bose-Einstein condensation, Schrödinger’s cat paradox, Bohm’s interpretation of quantum mechanics, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen paradox and Bell’s theorem.

Quantum mechanics sometimes defies common sense the way we understand the word common sense, it defies logic. The theory of quantum mechanics has many spiritual, philosophical implications than any other theories. The theory hasn’t got complete acceptance. But, it is very much successful in accounting for the phenomenon of microscopic world. The book successfully outlines the theory of quantum mechanics.

2) Understanding Islam Through Hadis- This book of Ram Swarup briefly introduces the main ahadis (“Sayings” or”Traditions”, Singular- Hadis) to the readers. The main sources of Islam are two: Quran and Hadis. The Muslims believe Quran to be revelation of god to Muhammad and Hadis, all that he did or said. Hadis is more important than Quran as it is the most important single source of Islamic laws & practices. 

The subject matters that are discussed in Hadis are diverse. Like Iman(Faith), Salat(Prayer), taharah(purification), Al-Nikah(marrriage), Al-Talaq (divorse),Zakat(poor tax), sawm(fast), and hajj (pilgrimage), Al-Imara(government), Tauba(repentance), Munafiqin(hypocrites); also on Jihad(holy war), al-anfal(war booty), and khums(the holy fifth),on punishment, food, drink, women, slaves, ablution, toilet and many more.

The main sources from which the contents of this book are taken: Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari, Sirat Rasul Allah, Tarikh Tabari ; all the sources are considered to be authentic in the Muslim world. So, there can be no question about the authenticity of the works. This book is useful for all who are interested in knowing the real concepts of Jihad, Talaq and many others. Since Islam stands on two pillars: Quran and Hadith (Sunnah also forms part of it), if you know both of them, you’ve almost known all of Islam.

3) Connect the Dots- Be it Prem Ganapathy of Dosa Plaza, or Ganesh Ram of Veta, all the entrepreneurs that are featured in this book have one factor in common: All these started their respective ventures right from the scratch and without having any professional business degrees like MBAs they made their ventures successful. This is Rashmi Bansal’s second book about successful entrepreneurs of India after ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’. While the first book is the success stories about those who had their MBAs from IIM-A, this one is about those who did not have any business degree. 

Most of the people who are featured in this book neither had any clear-cut plans for their future nor any burning desire to succeed. But still when time came, somehow they made it. They made opportunity meet the preparedness and thus got lucky. This can be an inspiring series of tales for all the would-be entrepreneurs giving them hope and delivering the message for them ‘it’s never too late’!

My Books Review: February '12

1) Kavalu : The latest novel of  S.L Bhairappa. This talks about the changing value system of Indian society owing to the huge influences of the western societies. For more details, do check 
http://blogesha.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/ನಾನೋದಿದ-ಪುಸ್ತಕ

2) Inspire your child inspire your world: This small book just over 30 pages is a collection of a few questions related to bringing up the children and answers given by Sadhguru to them. In his inimitable style Sadhguru answers the questions emphasizing on inspiration over information, kindling the thirst for knowledge over just earning a living, uniqueness of individual over sickness of competition and so on. It is a good book which brings out many good points in upbringing of children.

My Books Review: January '12

Perhaps one of the most notorious autobiographies ever to be penned down Mein Kamph is an account of Adolf Hitler’s life spanning from his birth to his ascendance to power. It gives a detailed account of the historical views, the prevalent political conditions that existed during the time of First World War and the period after viewed in the lens of Hitler. The original book is in German. It is translated to English by James Murphy.

The book starts by paying homage to twelve martyrs who laid their lives for the National socialistic party. Then it tells the story of Hitler’s birth in Austria, his parents, his love for painting, the relationship between Germany and Austria. Hitler’s intense love for Germany is very evident right from the beginning. A voracious reader he was, he read many books which helped him to form opinions about the political realities of his day and the problem that his nation faced. He forms opinion that there are two evils that are vexing Germany: Marxism and Jews. He has analyzed Marxists very well in some parts but he links Marxists with Jews.

Then he explains about ‘propaganda’, how it should be carried out. There can not be any better person to explain these other than Hitler. As a die-hard racist, he concludes the highest aim of human existence is conservation of race, the Aryan-blood is the purest and the rest of the races are subordinates to the Aryans. He analyses the causes for the defeat of Germany in the WWI, understand the mass psychology of people, devices methods to appeal to them, Then he actively involves himself in politics, builds National Socialistic Party which has a new Weltanschauung (A comprehensive view of the world and human life) amidst various hardships, develops oratory skills, charismatic appeals and ascends to the party leadership position.

In this autobiographical note, Hitler has mentioned everything that he wants to do once he comes to power: the kind of allies that Germany needs to have, the kind of society he intends to build, the emphasis on racism, the need for ethnic cleansing (though the word is not spelled out), everything horrible he has done finds mention or at least have clue in this autobiography.

My Books Review: December '11

        Shantaram- Written by Gregory David Roberts, this novel is an account of the author’s life spanning over a decade. Gregory Roberts, an Australian was a heroin addict and to satiate his need for heroin, he indulged in many crimes in Australia and then was sentenced to nineteen years of imprisonment. After serving two years in jail, he along with another escaped form the prison and thus became Australia’s one of the most wanted men. 

His journey after he escaped from jail took him to many countries and continents. Finally he lands in India and India becomes his home for many years. Soon after he enters India, he assumes a fake name (Lindsay a.k.a Linbaba) and identity. He develops a deep friendship with his guide in Bombay, Prabhakar who is not well educated but very lively and honest person. After a few days Prabhakar takes Lin to his native and his parents name Lin as Shantaram (that is where the title of the novel comes from) In the meantime Lin falls in love with an American, Karla. 

After a few months, Lin shifts his location to the slum and begins to stay there. With a preliminary medicine training he had, he serves in the slum as their doctor and rescues many during the break of cholera epidemic. Lin gets accustomed to the way of life of the slum and earns respect and love of the people of the slum. Lin is jailed for an unknown reason (which he later finds out) and is tortured for a few months. The person who gets him out of jail is Khader Khan, a mafia don.

After he gets back from jail he joins the mafia of Khaderbhai and learns many tricks like black money trading, drug trafficking, making of fake passports and begins to earn a decent income form the mafia. The brotherhood of mafia is stronger and he begins to see Khader as a father figure and Khader sees Lin as his own son. The mafia had people from many nations like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt etc.

In the meantime Khader, an Afghanistani decides to fight the soviets who have intruded his country. So, they decide to take part in the war and all including Lin leave for Afghanistan. What happens in the war, how Lin comes to know about the betrayal from his lover and the man he revered, what he does after returning to Bombay forms the later part of the story. 

The way in which the author has expressed himself is simply brilliant. The narration is witty, humorous, poetic at times, philosophical, replete with witty one-liners. Unlike many foreign authors, he is able to see the Indian life without any prejudices. The author has more or less succeeded in capturing the essence of India and Indians. His immense love for India, Bombay in particular is expressed in many ways. The book is huge of over 900 pages but it's worth every page.The sad thing is that this is the only novel he’s written so far. I wish he’d written more.

This provides a brilliant material for a potential Hollywood blockbuster. It has all the qualities of being made into a great movie. Someone should seriously try this. This book is easily one of the best novels I’ve ever read, a recommended read indeed.

My Books Review: November '11

1) Notes from the underground – This is the work of Russian writer, philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky. This is like a confession and rationalization made by the person about the past. When a person examines one’s life and if he is honest enough in examination he would find many feelings, deeds considered to be amoral been done. But it requires courage to accept those. Most of the times, we don’t deceive others but we deceive ourselves. This is an evaluation of the past and rationalization of some mistakes. The book is divided into two parts: the first part of the book is completely a monologue; the second part of the book is about his interactions with the society. This novel explores various emotions of humans like love, greed, jealousy, wrath, self-hate etc. It is said that Dostoevsky’s character in this novel is one of the greatest anti-heroes ever to be created and this work is perhaps the earliest work about existentialism. 

2) Quite honestly – This is a short novel written by the British author John Mortimer. It is a story of young girl Lucy Purefoy who has the desire of dong something good to the society. She joins the department which tries to reform and relocate the criminals out of the prison and bring them back to normal life. During such assignments, she befriends a criminal named Terry and after sometime she falls in love with the criminal. When asked why he was involved in crimes, Terry replies that he wanted to have the thrill of burglary rather than the money involved. To share the feeling with her love Terry, She plans to steal a very expensive painting along with two more. But while doing so she gets caught and lands up in prison. What happens next forms the later part of the story. 

This is an ordinary novel with ordinary tale, a few twists here & there and an unexpected ending.