Opinion Alien invasion

The lead editorial in Organiser says it has now become clear that all the campaigns against Hindu organisations and the witch-hunt of Hindu leaders that have been going on for the past six years,were orchestrated from behind by the Congress leadership. “Those who are calling the RSS fascist either do not know the meaning of the word or they do not know a thing about this nationalist organisation. It is the Congress leadership that has been following a ghetto policy. It interestingly was their leader’s family who allegedly had connection with Mussolini,who was an ideological half-brother of Hitler,” it says.It says the the Punjab and Haryana high court had recently turned down a petition seeking to know the religious faith of Sonia Gandhi. “This information was refused… in an RTI… The point is,why is Sonia Gandhi so secretive about her faith,while every Indian fills it in all kinds of forms? The same goes for Rahul and Priyanka too,” it says. Ever since Sonia Gandhi came into public life,it points out,that there has been a shadow of foreigners around her. “Recall the controversy over the presence of foreigners,her relatives,aboard fighter ships holidaying in Andamans. Then there was Quattrocchi. Now,for years,her family members have been living in India,for months together in obvious violation of visa rules,” it says. Another article describes Rahul a hit-and-run guerilla.

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An article by M.V. Kamath takes a look at India’s standing in the world of sports,post the Asian Games. He says there has been a lot of “tub-thumping” over the “alleged successful performance” of India,which barely managed to win 14 golds,17 silvers and 33 bronzes for a measly total of 64. China,he notes,won 199 golds,more than all the medals won by India in all three categories put together. India’s so-called successful performance,in the circumstances,cannot possibly be a matter for celebration. Even a small country like South Korea won 76 golds and 65 silvers. “If a nation with a population of 1.2 billion can be beaten hollow by nations like South Korea,Kazakhstan (with a medal total of 79) and even little Taipei (67 medals),Indians,as a sports people,have much to worry about,” he says. Referring to India coming second in Commonwealth Games after Australia,he says that in terms of population,India should have won six times more medals than Australia.He notes thatIndia had set up the National Institute of Sports as early as 1961 and some more sports facilities came up after the 1982 Asian Games. “It was then that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports became a permanent institution,but few had heard of it. It was there,but it seldom made news. Come the Commonwealth Games and suddenly as it were,the government woke up and allotted Rs 678 crore to the ministry to spend on training athletes,” he notes. If India wants a better performance at the 2012 Olympics in London,he says,it has to improve its training methods as well as lengthen the duration of training. Modern techniques have to be introduced and pursued with relentless intent.

War of words

The lead article in Panchjanya,titled ‘Jihad by pen’,trashes two books related to the 26/11 attack — one by retired Maharahtra police officer S.M. Mushrif called Who killed Karkare,and another, 26/11: RSS ki Saazish,by the editor-in-chief of Urdu Sahara newspaper,Aziz Burney. It targets Burney,who was in the news after Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh made his controversial remarks about the slain Maharashtra ATS chief facing threats from Hindu radical groups while releasing his book.

Referring to the books,it says that jihad is launched not just through the gun,but through the pen as well. The impact of the bullet is limited,while the effect of a jihad waged in print lasts longer. Describing Burney as a Congress pawn,it claims he consults Digvijaya Singh before writing editorials or news items. As far as Mushrif is concerned,it says he has cited no evidence to back his claim that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was behind the 26/11 attacks,merely saying that his heart thinks so. Both the books,it says,are full of baseless allegations and based purely on conspiracy theories.