The book focuses on role of US and European churches, academics, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest on India.
Publisher: Amaryllis.
Pages: 640.
Price: 695 INR
Rajiv Malhotra
His Infinity Foundation, seeks to foster a better global understanding of Indian civilization. Rajiv’s work argues that the dharma offers a complex and open framework for a genuine dialogue among diverse peoples, rather then a zero sum game. He shows the limitations of globalization when it is a parochial imposition of Western paradigms. He is well known as a speaker and writer for a wide audience and is frequently interviewed and invited to deliver keynote addresses. He serves on the Board of Governors of the India Studies program at the University of Massachusetts, and served as a Chairman for the Asian Studies Education Committee of the State of New Jersey.
Aravindan Neelakandan
Aravindan Neelakandan has worked for the past decade with an NGO in Tamil Nadu serving marginalized rural communities in sustainable agriculture. He was awarded a junior research fellowship in cultural economics by the India’s Ministry of Tourism to research the economic potentials of the neglected ruins in Kanyakumari district, in southern Tamil Nadu. These experiences provided him with in-depth knowledge of the history and sociology of Tamil people. He is also a popular science writer in Tamil and a columnist with UPI-Asia, a leading news portal.
1. எஸ் குருமூர்த்தி, துக்ளக் சோ ராமசாமி, தயானந்த சரஸ்வதி பேசியதை ‘தி ஹிந்து’ தொகுக்கிறது.
2. புத்தக வெளியீட்டு நிகழ்வில் அரவிந்தன் உரை – இங்கே
4. ராஜீவ் மெஹ்ரோத்ராவின் வலைப்பதிவு
5. 6 Provocations In “Breaking India”
- Dravidian Identity Constructed, Exploited & Politicized
- Linking Of Dravidian & Dalit Identities
- Foreign Nexus Exploits India’s Faultiness
- Religion’s Role in the Competition for Soft Power
- Interrogating the Term “Minority”
- Controlling the Discourse on India
6. Rajiv Malhotra along with Aravindan Neelakandan is going to discuss “Breaking India: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines” in New Delhi on Feb 9 at 4:30 pm, on the occassion of the launch of their book by the same name. The venue is Vivekananda International Foundation, 3, San Martin Marg, Chanakya Puri. Web: http://www.vifindia.org
Book launch and keynote address are by Ram Jethmalani. Speakers include B Raman (Director, Institute for Topical Studies), S. Gurumurthi, Vice Admiral (Retd) Raman Puri, and Upendra Baxi (Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Warwick).
நூல் பற்றிய அறிமுகம்:
இந்தியாவின் ஒருமைப்பாடும் இறையாண்மையும் உலகளாவிய மூன்று பெரும் பகாசுர சக்திகளால் அச்சுறுத்தலுக்கு ஆளாகியுள்ளன –
- அ) பாகிஸ்தானை மையமாகக் கொண்டு இயங்கும் இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதம்
- ஆ) சீனாவை மையமாகக் கொண்டு இயங்கும் மாவோயிஸ்டுகள் மற்றும் இதர மார்க்சிய அமைப்புகள்
- இ) மேற்கத்திய நாடுகளால் மனித உரிமை என்ற பெயரில் ஊட்டி வளர்க்கப் படும் திராவிட, தலித் பிரிவினைவாதம்.
இவற்றில் மூன்றாவதைப் பற்றி விரிவான ஆய்வுகளையும், அலசல்களையும் உள்ளடக்கியது இந்த நூல்.
அமெரிக்க, ஐரோப்பிய கிறிஸ்தவ நிறுவனங்களின் பணபலத்துடன் இந்தியாவுக்குள் திராவிட, தலித் பிரிவினைவாதத்தை வளர்க்கக் களமிறக்கப் படும்
- மனித உரிமை அமைப்புகள்
- கல்வியாளர்கள்
- சிந்தனை வட்டங்கள்
- மத அமைப்புகள்
ஆகியவை நிழலுருவில் செயல்படும் விதம் குறித்து விரிவான ஆய்வுகளை இந்த நூல் அளிக்கிறது. ஆரிய திராவிட இனவாதம் உருவான வரலாறு, புனித தாமஸ் பற்றிய கட்டுக் கதையை மையமாக வைத்து உருவாக்கப் படும் “திராவிட கிறிஸ்தவம்”, தென்னிந்திய வரலாற்றை உள்நோக்கங்களுடன் திரிக்கும் முயற்சிகள் ஆகியவை பற்றியும் இந்த நூல் விரிவாகப் பேசுகிறது.
நூலாசிரியர்கள் இது பற்றி கடந்த ஐந்து ஆண்டு காலமாக தீவிர ஆய்வுகள் மேற்கொண்டனர். அந்த ஆய்வுகளின் தொகுப்பாக இந்த நூல் வெளிவருகிறது.
Snap Judgment 
Book Release: ‘Breaking India’
[HPI note: This is not a summary, but the full report from our correspondent; you will not find this article elsewhere on the web.]
NEW DELHI, January 11th, 2011 (By Rajiv Malik, HPI Correspondent):
‘It is a book intended to be an eye opener, a warning to us,’ said jurist and former Law Minister of India, Shri Ram Jethamalani, while formally releasing the book ‘Breaking India : Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines.’ The book is jointly authored by Rajiv Malhotra, head of Infinity Foundation and Aravindan Neelakandan, a popular science writer in Tamil.
Shri Ram Jethamalani continued, ‘We have internal enemies enough but there are external enemies outside our borders who are collaborating with their dummies , agents and proxies inside our borders. And they are trying to achieve the result which is to weaken India, break its unity, break its integration and ultimately to jeopardize our freedom, our sovereignty and perhaps our culture.’
Or in other words: ‘Why West Controls The Discourse On India ?’ asks Rajiv Malhotra, the author of the book.
The book release function was held in New Delhi’s Vivekananda International Foundation on Wednesday, February 9th, 2011. It was followed by a discussion on the book by Shri S. Gurumurthy, Public Intellectual ; Vice Admiral [Retd] Raman Puri and Dr. Upendra Baxi , Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Warwick.
In his keynote address, Shri Ram Jethamalani also stated, ‘The authors have found out that there are three external dangers from which India is exposed in a very big way. The Islamic radicals which are operating from a neighboring country, perhaps from other countries too. Then there are Maoists and others who are being supported by Chinese. The third category is of the persons who are trying to create a new race of Dravidians and also taking in account the large number of what we call the dalits. They are trying to instigate a feeling of separatism and thereby further weaken this country.’
He went on to say, ‘Sanskrit language in the past united the bonds between the north and the south of India. But today a move is on to remove Sanskrit words from the Tamil language, to make Tamil a separate language altogether not belonging to the group of languages which were sourced from Sanskrit. There are religious groups who are carrying on this false propaganda and this must be understood.’
In his presentation Shri S. Gurumurthy said, ‘ This work is long overdue. There have been a lot of efforts to expose the kind of machinations that are going on to pervert our nationalism, pervert our past, pervert our great heroes, pervert even our spiritual personalities like Thiruvalluvar. Questioning whether Thiruvalluvar was a Christian ? And the entire Saiva Siddhanta is being perverted as a by-product of Christianity. You can understand the extent of damage that this kind of perversion can cause in a society where there are no organized efforts to counter these things. We are not an organized society, that is our strength. We are not an organized society, that is our weakness. Organized societies collapse and collapse very easily. Societies which are not organized, like us, they do not collapse, they decay.’
He also added that the book is an intellectually sound documentation of the current state of affairs in the country and opens up a debate in the country. It is however, not trying to propagate any ideology [against Christianity]. The book focuses on Tamil Nadu and captures the various developments in the state; making it what it is today. The rapid conversion of poor dalits to Christianity by distorting the various Hindu teachings and facts is a current phenomena.
Vice Admiral [Retd] Raman Puri, in his speech said, ‘De-sanskritisation of India is not new and has been happening since the time of the British Raj. We Indians are a victim to it. It is thereby important to stop this de-culturalisation and work towards restoring Indian culture, its values and it’s very fabric which is under threat.’ He finally said, ‘Their [foreign countries] business is to keep us weak by annihilating our culture and our business is to keep it strong.’
Dr. Upendra Baxi warned the reader of the book that it is important to read and understand this book in the right light. He said that ‘India has been suffering from three S’s. Subordination [under British rule], subversion [of Indian culture , that is happening currently] and surveillance [under the strict watch of the West]. Given the Indian political context, the book is under the danger of being misread and thereby lead to the breaking of India. He pointed out that it is important that the book should neither be aligned to right wing ideology or left wing ideology, for here lies the threat of being misinterpreted. Instead he saw the book as a collection of ‘unpleasant facts’ that have been a part of the country for quite some time. Dr. Baxi ended his speech on a poignant note by raising a question as to how Mohan Das [Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi] would have reacted to this book. This however , Dr. Baxi left open ended for every one to ponder.
In his speech author of the book Rajiv Malhotra pointed out that the book focused on the role of US 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. The book, according to him was the result of five years of research which tracked the money trails that start out claiming to be for ‘education’, ‘human rights’, ’empowerment training’ and ‘leadership training’, but end up programs designed to produce angry youths who feel disenfranchised from Indian identity.
Malhotra further stated that the book highlighted ‘how the discourse on India at various levels is being increasingly controlled by the institutions in the West which in turn serve its geo-political ambitions. So, why has India failed to create its own institutions that are the equivalent of the Ford Foundation, Fullbright Foundation, Rockfeller Foundation etc. ?’
Raising some other pertinent questions he said, ‘Why are there no Indian university based International Relations programs with deep-rooted links to the External Affairs Ministry and various cultural, historical and ideological think tanks? Why are the most prestigious journals, university degrees and conferences on India Studies, in sharp contrast to the way China Studies worldwide is under the control of Chinese dominated discourse, based in the West and mostly under the control of western institutions ?’
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Bookmark
A rich, varied collection of essays on India
By Tej N Dhar
Indian Essentials, Penguin Books, Pp 519 (PB), Rs 450.000
THE very title of Indian Essentials suggests that the essays contained in it, which come without any editorial mediation, are about the most known aspects of the lives of Indians, their traditions, institutions, passions, and dreams. Written by competent writers-Geeta Doctor, Bachi Karkaria, Namita Gokhale, Arvind Krishan Mehrotra, Indrajit Hazra, Jerry Pinto, Pratik Kanjilal, and many others-the essays are comprehensive and well thought out; most of them are also backed by a good deal of research.
The essay on “Great Indian Family” traces the ancient roots of the family tradition of communal living in India, in which women and their honour are of key importance. The family tradition is strong even today because it is strengthened periodically by functions related to births, weddings, etc. Chalta hai is the defining attitude of Indians, which explains the viability of the “mad, exasperating, irrational India.” Though it helps Indians to put up with anything, it breeds irresponsibility and blunts competitiveness. Only recently, the Right to Information Act and the rise of Consumer Forums have made some changes in this. Chalta hai has allowed the growth of chai pani, that is, money that people pay to get things done, what we now call corruption. The essay on this has interesting details related to it, and also an ingenious and colourful classification of bureaucrats, who make “the great train of being” that runs on chai pani: “the peninsular bureaucrat,” “koi-hai bureaucrat,” “the UP Kayastha Biradari, “the Safari Babu,” “Bungalow Bill,” and many others. Sex in India, we learn from another essay, is only a means of procreation. Though we can boast of the highly regarded sex manual of Vatsayana, sex education in India is still a taboo. A whole army of hakims, vaids, and sex specialists, found in almost all parts of the country, is meant only to help people in their procreative effort. Because of this, “a woman is like a meter to guage the potency of a man.” Marriages too turn into weddings: large family and social affairs. That is why the tradition of middlemen and busybodies who arrange marriages for high and low. The internet has led to the creation of a globalised marriage marketplace, and wedding planners have taken over the task of setting up marriage arrangements.
The essay on saris shows that “the story of India is the story of sari itself,” for it is worn in almost all parts of the country, in different ways and styles; it is truly sensuous and allows women to show as much or as little as they want. Indians also suffer from gold fever; nearly one fifth of the supply of gold in the world flows into the country.
Some essays are about favourite Indian passions: pilgrimages, street food, cinema, godmen, and cricket. Though the practice of going on pilgrimages can be traced to Vedas, it is common to all religions, and the country is studded with shrines that are visited by millions of people throughout the year. Street food is quite popular in all parts of the country. We get interesting details on the history of such foods, which include Bhelpuri, Tibb’s Frankie, Vada Pav, etc. Although films are made in different languages of the country, the impact of Bollywood on Indian lives is the most pervasive. The essay on this provides details on the changing pattern of films right from the 1950s to the present and disproves the notion that these are based on formulas.
The essay on godmen makes a fine distinction between the savants of yore, who were interested in the health of our souls, and their present-day incarnations, who offer services for money. Their help is sought by overworked Indians who have to cope with pressures created by materialistic life-style. We get very interesting details on Baba Ram Dev, Sai Baba, Ravi Shankar, and the hugging Mother. Indian’s passion for cricket raises it to the level of religion, which helps in fostering a strong national identity. It is also a money spinner, for India controls 70 per cent of global revenue from the sport. Players like Tendulkar bridge generations and create global brands. Cricket is truly seen “as a participatory mass spectacle, as street theatre, as national discourse, as catharsis.”
Though Indians, as individuals, are hygiene obsessed, they hardly care for public hygiene. 80 per cent of them defecate in open and piss in public. They are also prone to superstition, which explains their love for astrology, fortune telling, numerology, gemology, vatsu, feng shui, jadu tona, and their belief in miracles like bleeding Jesus and milk drinking gods. Indians also love to talk highly about family greatness, which has given rise to the cult of dynasties. The essay on this provides interesting accounts of political, industrial, and filmy dynasties of India. The volume has many more learned essays-on our use of English or what is called “Inglish,” on travelling in trains, and about local colour.
Indian Essentials is a rich, varied, and highly informative collection of essays, which provide a fairly realistic assessment of our positive strengths as well as our foibles and failures in a lively manner. It should be of interest to all those who consider themselves Indians.
(Pengiun Books, 11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017)
புத்திஸ்வாதீனம் அடைந்தவனின் பிதற்றல்களால் நிரம்பி வழியும் புஸ்தகம் …
Now I have started reading the book. The authors have very effectively introduced the book encompasing the ugly situation we are under and the fool hardy rulers who care for themselves
Unless a party with no selfish interest and with an aim of protecting the country and Hindutwa meaning not Hinduism we will be lost for ever.