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Journalism of Courage
The latest issue of the Organiser has a signed editorial titled 8220;UPA shenanigans on terror:nbsp; A shame for India8221; by R. Balashankar. He observes: 8220;The disservice the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad ATS has done to India8217;s fight against terrorism is immense. It has proved itself a rogue agency, violating every tenet of civilised crime investigation, and a willing pawn in the hands of cynical politicians manoeuvering to wreak vendetta on ideological rivals for their short-sighted and petty vote bank punting. One cannot believe that a high-profile investigating agency could descend to such low levels as framing respected, law-abiding citizens on false charges and indulging in barbarian third-degree methods like in some Gestapo or Stalinist torture chamber. Equally surprising is the silence of human rights activists, National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women in the face of the heartwrenching submissions of Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit before the judiciary.8221;
He adds: 8220;Respected cop KPS Gill, who fought terrorism in Punjab, said in all his career he has not come across a case where a woman was kept in police custody for ten days. He said the ATS has violated the law in keeping the sadhvi in police custody for so long. The Human Rights Commission should have taken cognizance of this violation, he added. It is surprising because these agencies in the past have played very activist role in Kandhamal in Orissa, Mangalore in Karnataka, Daang and other places in Gujarat and in all earlier arrests of suspects involved in Islamic terror. 8221;
Sins of the church
ANEWS item titled 8220;Historic Hindu congregation in Orissa8221; observes: 8220;Jo church dharmantaran kare, voh church papi hai; Jagannathji ki dharti par Christian atankwad nahi chalega; Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati amar rahe 8212; These slogans were aired by one lakh Hindus of Orissa in Bhubaneswar while paying their tributes to the late Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who was brutally murdered by Christian terrorists in the holy night of Janmashtami8230; The whole capital city was captivated by the Hindu patriots and their bhagwa saffron flags. They did not care for the UPA government8217;s warning to suspend this grand meeting and warned all those, who intend to preach violence and propagate terrorism and conversion in the state, against carrying out their propaganda. They also gave an ultimatum to the state government to arrest the real assassinators of Swami Laxmanananda on or before December 15 and to stop arbitrary arrests of innocent Hindus in Kandhamal. It was alleged that the chief minister is working under pressure of both the church and the Congress-led UPA government at the centre8230; They held Congress Rajya Sabha member Radhakant Nayak as the prime conspirator behind Swamiji8217;s murder and demanded his immediate arrest.8221;
Hindu dynamism
ANEWS item quotes RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat as saying that Hindu nationhood is a 8220;dynamic and progressive concept8221;. The news item says: 8220;The concept of Hindu nation is not based on any ideology or 8216;ism8217;. It is a continuously evolving, dynamic and progressive way of life in complete consonance with nature, observed RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a gathering of intellectuals from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J038;K, Delhi and Chandigarh. The Sarkaryavah observed that instead of calling it Hinduism it would be better to use the term Hinduness or Hindutva because it is neither an 8216;ism8217; nor a theory or hypothesis. Theories and hypotheses were not the ultimate truth but were propositions that needed to be proved, whereas Hindutva was the ultimate truth which evolved as a way of life that had to be experienced rather than debated upon.8221;
8212; compiled by Suman K. Jha
