Holier than thou

The editorial in the latest Organiser is devoted to the Amarnath land allotment controversy. Taking potshots at the...

The editorial in the latest Organiser is devoted to the Amarnath land allotment controversy. Taking potshots at the Congress and the CPM, the leader writes: 8220;To say that the PDP is raking up the issue with an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections is viewing the matter in too simplistic terms. The design is more sinister. They want to erase the Hindu heritage of Kashmir. PDP leader Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter have also demanded that the Amarnath yatra should be held in abeyance for some time. They play crass communal politics. Few months ago they demanded Pak currency in Kashmir. They often work hand in glove with the separatists. And they happen to be the bosom friends of Sonia Gandhi. The CPM and the NC are far behind in stoking communal divide in the Valley.8221;

The edit concludes: 8220;It8217;s imperative to send out a message that Hindu shrines are beyond politics. If the coalition government led by the Congress in the state yields, it would send a wrong signal to the nation. Coming in the series of minority appeasement policies of the UPA, it would only be showing it as yielding to the pressure of the separatists. It would augur ill for the secular fabric of the nation.8221;

River sutra

A news item on the 8220;Save Ganga Movement8221; quotes former BJP ideologue K.N. Govindacharya, Uttarkahand chief minister B.C. Khanduri, and yoga exponent Swami Ramdev on the need to ensure 8220;natural flow of river Bhagirathi from Gangotri to Uttarkashi8221;. 8220;Efforts must be made to protect jal, jangal, zameen, janwar and jan water, forests, land, animals, and people at all costs to ward off threats to our existence,8221; Govindacharya is quoted as saying in the item.nbsp; The full-page feature carries a picture of Prof G.D. Aggarwal, who became the rallying point for the protest against the Uttarakhand government8217;s developmental initiatives on the Bhagirathi. The item quotes Aggarwal as saying that 8220;the existence of the river Ganga is under severe threat due to unmindful developmental activities on the Bhagirathi between Gangotri and Uttrkashi8221;. The item says that the cause supported by Aggarwal 8220;has also received support from saints, environmentalists, IITians, and the common men8221;.

Hindi for Hinduism

In an opinion piece titled 8220;Russia 8212; the country that we chose to forget8221;, former RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav writes his impressions on a recent visit to Russia. He says: 8220;Somehow post-Soviet Union, we forgot Russia. But the Russians didn8217;t forget us. Their interest in our country is still intact, and the knowledge too. The Hindi department in the Moscow State University is a standing example. They speak fluent Hindi8212;students and teachers alike. What is more interesting is the fact that for them learning Hindi is a means to learn about Hinduism.8221;

Madhav concludes: 8220;For India, the strategic advantage relationship that Russia offers is immense. Russia is an important country in our vicinity. It is a democracy, however nascent it may be. It is a huge economy. It is also a free trade country. But the only problem is that the political climate in the country is still stifling. Although the Soviet era of Iron curtain has gone, the climate still smacks of those very days of Big Brother Watching8221;.