Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar



Savarkar unplugged: From film and science to caste and Hindutva
Source:http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/10jRCglrp6H3ZHp0PiXIwL/Savarkar-unplugged-From-film-and-science-to-caste-and-Hindu.html Niranjan Rajadhyaksha,

Born in Nashik in 1883, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the Indian Independence movement. His fraught relationship with the Congress party and Mahatma Gandhi, and his conceptualization of the idea of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism, lends him perennial relevance in Indian politics.

However, as in the case of many other contemporaneous leaders, debates on Savarkar are often shallow because the bulk of his writing was in his mother tongue, Marathi. These essays have rarely been translated.

In this first of a new series of translated journalism for Mint on Sunday, we publish translated excerpts from Savarkar’s speeches, interviews and essays. These provide insights into Savarkar, who died in 1966, as a modernist, a rationalist and a strong supporter of social reform.

We would like to thank Ranjit Savarkar of the Savarkar Smarak in Mumbai, for giving us the permission to translate the originals.

On film
In this undated interview to a Marathi journalist that has been republished in a book of his essays, Vividha Lekh, or Various Essays, Savarkar spoke about the virtues of modern cinema.

“The movies are one of the beautiful gifts of the 20th century. This is the machine age. We are surrounded by things that have been made with the help of machines. The world of entertainment cannot be an exception to this rule. Please understand that I refuse to condemn the advances made in technology. I would like modern machines to spread rapidly so that the whole of humanity is happier.”

“I dislike any restrictions on the innovative spirit of the human mind. That is because modern progress and modern culture have emerged out of innovation. The very essence of the progress made by humanity over the past many years in science and knowledge can be found in contemporary cinema. There is no better example of the use of modern technology than the movies, and that is why I will never back any restrictions on them.”

These remarks by Veer Savarkar are a stinging answer to the contempt with which Mahatma Gandhi has spoken about movies. When I asked Savarkar whether he was implicitly criticizing Gandhi, he asked me: “Is there anything common between Gandhi and me?”

“I saw my first silent movie when I was a student in London, and I liked it immensely. I have seen some talkies as well, but not too many.”

“I doubt the theatre can compete with the movies. It will barely survive in a corner just as the folk arts barely survive in our villages today. But its best days are behind it.”

“There is no need to feel bad about this. What is the use of the wooden plough in the age of the tractor? The wooden plough will be used only where there are no tractors. I deeply oppose the charkha philosophy of going back to nature.”

“Films are even superior to novels. However well written be the biographies of national heroes such as Shivaji, Pratap or Ranjit, there is no doubt their stories will be more enjoyable and impactful on the screen.”

“Films can even be used to educate our youth. We see life reflected very well on screen. It is better to borrow a good thing rather than have nothing at all. But one should neither blindly copy the work of others.”

“As in all other fields, it is essential that our people are nationalists in the field of cinema as well. Everything else comes after that. The film industry too should believe that it will do everything possible for the progress of the entire nation.”

“Our movies should focus on the positives of the country, keep aside the negatives and have pride in its victories. There is no value in making movies on national defeat or on our failings. These should be forgotten. Our youth should be inspired by movies that focus on the positive side of things.”

On the Constitution of free India
In his presidential address to the annual session of the Hindu Mahasabha held in Calcutta in 1939, Savarkar spoke about how Hindus and Muslims could bury their historical differences in a common Hindustani constitutional state.

The National Constitution of Hindustan:

The Hindu Sanghanists Party aims to base the future constitution of Hindustan on the broad principle that all citizens should have equal rights and obligations irrespective of caste or creed, race or religion, provided they avow and owe an exclusive and devoted allegiance to the Hindustani State.

The fundamental rights of liberty of speech, liberty of conscience, of worship, of association, etc., will be enjoyed by all citizens alike. Whatever restrictions will be imposed on them in the interest of the public peace and order of National emergency will not be based on any religious or racial considerations alone but on common National grounds.

No attitude can be more National even in the territorial sense than this and it is this attitude in general which is expressed in substance by the curt formula ‘one man one vote’. This will make it clear that the conception of a Hindu Nation is in no way inconsistent with the development of a common Indian Nation, a united Hindustani State in which all sects and sections, races and religions, castes and creeds, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Anglo-Indians, etc., could be harmoniously welded together into a political State on terms of perfect equality.

But as practical politics require it, and as the Hindu Sanghanists want to relieve our non-Hindu countrymen of even a ghost of suspicion, we are prepared to emphasize that the legitimate rights of minorities with regard to their religion, culture and language will be expressly guaranteed: on one condition only that the equal rights of the majority also must not in any case be encroached upon or abrogated.

Every minority may have separate schools to train up their children in their own tongue, their own religious or cultural institutions and can receive Government help also for these, but always in proportion to the taxes they pay into the common Exchequer. The same principle must, of course, hold good in case of the majority too.

On Muslims and modernization
At the very end of a sharp essay on the religious idiocies of the Hindus and Muslims, published in the May 1935 issue of the magazine Manohar, Savarkar asked Indian Muslims to “for the sake of their humanity” learn from Turkey under Kemal Ataturk.

Just as it is my duty to repeatedly tell the Hindu nation to abandon its silly religious customs, observances and opinions in this age of science, so I will also tell Muslim society, which is an inevitable part of the Hindustani nation, that it should abandon as quickly as possible its troublesome habits as well as religious fanaticism for its own good—not as a favour to the Hindus, not because the Hindus are scared of your religious aggression, but because these practices are a blot on your humanity, and especially because you will be crushed in the age of science if you cling on to an outdated culture.

You should abandon the belief that not even a word in the Quran can be questioned because it is the eternal message of God, even as you maintain respect for the Quran. But the norms that seemed attractive to an oppressed but backward people in Arabia at a time of civil strife should not be accepted as eternal; accept the habit of sticking to only that which is relevant in the modern age...

Oh Muslims, just think what the Europeans reduced you to after they escaped from the clutches of the Bible, to master the sciences that are beneficial for our times. You were pushed out of Spain, you were subjected to massacres, you were crushed in Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. Your control over Mughal India was snatched away. They are ruling you in Arabia, Mesopotamia, Iraq and Syria.

Just as our yagnyas, prayers, Vedas, holy books, penances, curses could not harm the Europeans, so too will your Quran, martyrdoms, namaaz, religious lockets will make no difference to them.

Just as the maulvis sent armies to war in the belief that the men who fought under the banner of Allah would never lose, so did our pundits peacefully sit back to repeat the name of Rama a million times. But none of this prevented the Europeans, with their advanced weapons; they not only decimated the Muslim armies, but they even toyed with the fallen flag of Allah.

And that is why Kemal Ataturk has broken the bonds of all religious laws that have kept the Turkish nation backward. He has borrowed civil law, criminal law and military law from Switzerland, France and Germany, to replace the rules in the Quran.

The literal meaning of what is said in the Quran no longer matters. The only question today is what is essential for national advancement in the light of modern science. Turkey can hold its own against Europe today because Kemal has given primacy to modern science in his nation.

If Turkey had remained bound within the covers of the Quran, as it was during the reign of Kemal Sultan or the Khalifa, then the Turks would still be licking the boots of the Europeans, as the Indian Muslims are doing today.

If they want to advance as the Turks have done, Indian Muslims should abandon the religious fanaticism that has been nurtured over a thousand years, and accept modern science.

On the age of machines
Savarkar often called on his supporters to welcome the age of the modern machine. Here, in an essay published in the magazine Kirloskar, and republished in a book of his essays on the scientific approach, he argued that India would continue to lag behind Europe as long as its leaders believed in superstition rather than science.

It was 200 years ago that Europe entered the era that our country is now entering. This means we are two centuries behind Europe. We are entering what economists describe as the age of the machine. The spread of machines some 200 years ago in Europe challenged traditional beliefs and habits.

There were fears that humanity would lose its essence in the machine age, religion would be undermined, humans would begin to act like machines, our bodies would shrivel and the prosperity that was promised with the use of machines would itself be destroyed. Men would be reduced to being paupers rather than eating well.

Such shrill warnings were spread across Europe by a class that stuck to tradition and religious naiveté.
The reason machines are not more widely used by our people is because of the religious beliefs in our society.

Europe too did not accept machines 200 years ago because of the power of Christian religious beliefs. There was a massive earthquake in Lisbon in the 18th century. The religious leaders of Europe preached to the people that the earthquake was the result of the Protestant perfidy against the religious beliefs of the Roman Catholics. It was a punishment because Protestant marriage ceremonies were led by women, Protestant priests were allowed to marry, the words of the Pope are not considered infallible. It was in reaction to these reasons that the people decided to protect themselves against future earthquakes by trying to finish off the Protestants.

Such naive people were incapable of even understanding that there were physical explanations for earthquakes, let alone trying to use seismology to design machines that could perhaps help them predict the risk of an earthquake. Europe could truly embrace the machine age only when its religious beliefs were demolished by the scientific approach.

But in India, even someone as influential as Gandhiji swears by his “inner voice” to say that the Bihar earthquake is a punishment for the caste system. And that he is still waiting for his inner voice to tell him why Quetta was rocked by an earthquake. And then there are Shankaracharya and other religious leaders who swear by the religious books that the earthquake was caused by attempts to do away with the caste system.

What can one say about the religious naiveté of the ordinary people in a country when its prominent leaders hold such views? Europe is in the year 1936 while we are in the year 1736.
On the unpopular tasks of the social reformer
In the same collection of essays on the scientific approach, where he also mocked those whose religious sentiments get hurt very easily, Savarkar wrote about how the true social reformer has to accept unpopularity.

And that is why any reformer who seeks to root out harmful social practices or preach new truths has first of all to compromise his popularity. That is what Jesus meant when he told the majority who opposed him: “Ye build sepulchres unto those whom your fathers stoned to death!” Jesus, Buddha and Mohammad are today the gods and prophets of millions of people, but look at how they were treated by their contemporaries. Jesus was killed. Buddha had to face a murderous attack. Mohammad had to flee, was injured in battle, was condemned as a traitor.

So, reformers who rock the boat, who become unpopular, who disturb the social balance, who hurt religious sentiments, who turn their back on majority opinion, who think rationally—all these reformers face the inevitable consequences of their actions.

Every reformer has had to face these challenges. This is because social reform—by definition rooting out any evil social custom—means taking on the persistent social beliefs of the majority.

And the reformer who pits himself against the religious practices of millions will be the most unpopular. And the man who has made popularity his business will give in to the popular will out of fear, but who wants to do some good, will eventually be overcome by his fear, will leave the road to social and religious reform.

A true social or religious reformer should only be driven by the desire to do good. As far as I am concerned, so that I am not torn about the choice between popularity and public good, I have this stamped on my mind: Varam Janahitam Dhyeyam Kevala Na Janstuti (It is best to think only of the welfare of people, not praise them).

On untouchability
Savarkar was a strong opponent of the caste system. He repeatedly argued that what the religious books say about untouchability is irrelevant. The social practice was unfit for a modern society. In his collection of essays on breaking the caste system, he welcomed the constitutional provision that made untouchability a crime.

“Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law”
—Article 17 of the Indian Constitution
It was a golden day for all humankind and Hindu Sanghatan when the Constituent Assembly unanimously took this decision. These words should now be carved on some eternal pillar like the Ashoka Pillar, so important are they.

This historic decision should be seen as the success of the hundreds of saints, social reformers and political leaders who worked so hard over the centuries to break the shackles of untouchability. The practice of untouchability is now not just an evil that has to be criticized but a crime that will be punished.

Citizens are now not just been advised to abandon the practice of untouchability, but have been told that it is against the law to practise it.

Article 17 of the Indian Constitution has used the word untouchability in the singular. There should have been an explanatory note in the interests of clarity. After all, there could be instances when untouchability has to be practised for medical or personal reasons. These may not be damaging to society. Of course, Article 17 is meant to deal with only that untouchability that men and women have to face if they are born into a particular caste...

Besides untouchability, social cleavages and hierarchies of all types have been frowned upon. These practices may not be punishable but will be looked down upon. This is implicit in Article 17, given the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution and in its preamble. And later, in the sections about fundamental rights, it is clearly stated that no citizen of the Indian state will be discriminated against on the basis of religion, race, caste, gender or place of birth. They are all equal under the law. In this way, the Constitution has taken the wrecking ball to the edifice of social discrimination.

On revolution
In 1952, Savarkar went to Pune to announce the closure of Abhinav Bharat, the revolutionary outfit that he had set up as a student to fight for independence. In a public speech, he said that revolutionary organizations have no place in a constitutional state, echoing the views of his friend B.R. Ambedkar.

The end of the age of revolution and the coming of swarajya means that our primary national duty in the new age is to abandon the methods of rebellion so that constructive and lawful politics will gain primacy.

To overthrow foreign rule, we had to inevitably have secret societies, armed revolt, terrorism, civil disobedience; these were holy. But if we stick to these methods after we have got our freedom, then the damage we will inflict will be worse that what even are enemies can do...

The establishment of swarajya does not mean that Ramrajya will follow immediately.
(After explaining how 200 years of colonial rule had damaged India, Savarkar says) ...it is our duty as citizens to support our national government that we should at least for some time bear whatever pain lies ahead. So that the national government gets time to address important questions.

We should support the government with our hard work and patience. There is a lot of criticism of the mistakes the government has made... The people have still decided to hand power to the Congress. They have not snatched power from you. It is only fair to point out that had the difficult task of setting matters right not been given to the Congress, but to the socialists, communists or Hindutva parties, they too would have made similar mistakes, either because of inexperience or the lust for power.

Source:http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/10jRCglrp6H3ZHp0PiXIwL/Savarkar-unplugged-From-film-and-science-to-caste-and-Hindu.html

PM Modi should be congratulated and commended for not meeting the crooked protesters from Tamilnadu

PM Modi should be congratulated and commended for not meeting the crooked protesters from Tamilnadu

Conducting public protests has become a profitable organized activity in Tamilnadu. There is a clever pattern to this.

Almost all protests are only against the central government because even a genuine protest by helpless neighbourhood women against liquor shops will have a whipping police descend on them on the same day. They will be beaten up mercilessly unmindful of age or sex.

But, it is easy to divert any issue by blaming the central government. It also helps to build a popular sentiment against the central government, specially if the BJP is at the central government. The 2 main Dravidian parties and the useless communists survive only on this agenda-dividing the people on communal grounds by whipping up sentiment against Hindus and the BJP.

The leaders of these parties shamelessly and openly engage themselves on stage with muslim and christian leaders who urge their flock to vote against BJP. The highest hypocrisy here is that they not only call themselves secular but consider BJP as the common non-secular party who has to be opposed at all costs.

At most of these protests, food is served, public address systems are set up well and all local TV channels are available and the protestors can go on for days together without any apparent personal impact. Every day, favourable politicians appear to use the occasion and further reinforce the anti-Indian sentiment.

The latest in these protest dramas was the obnoxious so called farmers protest to waive off all the loans and to even interlink the rivers across India. Such a farce was enacted in New Delhi with the full knowledge that the central government can not evict them in any way. While Yogi Adityanath's state government in UP was able to waive Rs.30,729 crores of loans to farmers, these so called farmers from Tamilnadu have come to Delhi with a list of demands.

When the Breaking India forces are working full time, such crooks are the front to create a large scale public resentment against the nation of India. It is to the immense credit of PM Modi to have not seen these wholesale crooks. It is commendable that PM Modi did not use this occasion to gain political mileage.

No one who believes in the greatness of Bharath can support such scum and in fact a true Indian farmer is one who worships his soil, his traditional systems and one who does not go begging even to the government to keep his soil fertile to produce food.

The poor farmers who committed suicide so far are those who have not taken loans from government banks. They are the ones who got entangled with money sharks and could not deal with them. Such farmers will not benefit from any loan waiver.

The ones who benefit are part of this established racket. Bulk of the money, if at all it is allocated at any time, will go to the politically connected, established repeat offenders who would never have had any loss in the first place and are part of this well oiled machinery in the network of crooks that are fronted by few who apparently have acquired fame with their innovative dramas.

So, who are these people who enacted this drama? This exceptional collation from neonationalist gives a good analysis of this abominable charade. 

Source-http://neonationalist.com/india/expose/farmer-protest-drama-delhi-423/

For a little over a month “Farmer Protests” are on-going at New Delhi, by a group of people claiming to be farmers from Tamil Nadu. At first, we thought it was genuine and did support the farmer protest. But when we sat with them and spoke to them, it is obvious that this farmer protest is purely political in nature.

We then read about what other journalists have to say on that and realized that all of them have expressed the same view.

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/who-is-behind-tn-farmers-protest/20170404.htm). We thought we could dig through a bit of history to identify the people behind this drama.

The Demands laid in this Farmer Protest:

The farmer protest mainly circles around five points.
# Waive of the Farm Loans – irrespective of the ownership of quantum of Land and irrespective of financial status of the person who obtained the loan.
# Grant Rupees forty thousand crores (₹40,000 crores) to Tamilnadu State Government allegedly for Drought relief.
# Interlinking Indian Rivers
# Formation of Cauvery Management Board
# Banning Chemical Fertilizers

On the outset, it seems a noble cause indeed. Just that it is not.

When we spoke to them, we explained that the first point is mostly a subject of State government and cited Uttar Pradesh Loan Waiver as an example. But they seem to avoid any questions on the State Government.

We told them that the Centre had released drought relief fund of ₹2,000 crores a month back and asked them if they know what happened to it. They refused to answer. (https://satyavijayi.com/centre-releases-rs-2014-crore-tamil-nadu-deal-losses-due-natural-calamities/)

The last two demands were added after the farmer protest started – when several questions were raised about their demand for such a huge drought grant. Almost all demands are already announced / implemented in one way or other. Cauvery Management Board ran into legal issues and hence may take more time.

River Interlinking Initiatives by the Central Government:

The third demand of River Interlinking is something that is already in progress (https://www.rt.com/news/343635-india-river-linking-drought/). River Interlinking is a scheme announced by Vajpayee government after seeing the success of the then CM Narendra Modi’s implementation of interlinking Narmada and Sabarmati rivers at Gujarat in 2003. T

he central government has revived the project and has been working on it since the last eight months. We explained to them that the project is huge and may well extend to ten years. And that there are international approvals that are required.

For example, Teesta river originates in India and flows into Bangladesh. During Sheikh Hasina’s recent visit to India, she had raised the concern stating that Modi has to ensure water to Bangladesh in the ongoing plans for River Interlinking (http://www.firstpost.com/india/narendra-modi-sheikh-hasina-ink-over-20-pacts-but-water-issue-remains-unresolved-what-is-the-teesta-dispute-all-about-3374614.html). The same concern was raised by Bangladesh last year too.

We told them that such projects of this huge magnitude will take a lot of time and efforts. Sadly even well-educated people seem to expect that the government “completes” River Interlinking in six months. That’s precisely the problem with people who support this farmer protest. They don’t care to dig through the reasons but blindly believe in the memes and stale user videos circulating on the internet.

₹4,00,00,00,00,000 seem to be the only reason for this Farmer Protest:

Even if we exempt the first and the last Demands of the Farmer Protest, the second point seems to be the only pressing demand for them. The second demand states that the Centre has to release ₹40,000 crores to the Sasikala led Tamilnadu Government as drought relief. When we asked to justify the figure, the protesters had no reasonable justification.

When we tried to tell them that the demand for ₹40,000 crores are unjustified, their voices raised and they insisted that centre has to release this fund immediately.

According to their own version, the outstanding Farmers debt (large / small farmers) is around ₹72,000 crores all over India. So does it mean almost 60% of Indian farmers reside in Tamilnadu? When we told them the reality that Tamilnadu is not in the top ten agriculture states in India, they were all silent.

Their entire protest seems to circle around this ₹40,000 crore demand. Assuming that even if government does not waive off loan and even if it does not do anything on interlinking rivers, the protesters would call off the farmer protest if ₹40,000 is granted to state government of Tamilnadu indirectly led by Sasikala.

When we questioned them if they are trying to arm-twist the government into granting the unrealistic drought relief fund, they diverted the issue to Cauvery Water Board formation.

We told them that after Supreme Court order (ordering release of water), Karnataka had filed Review Petition in Supreme Court. And until the review petition is settled by the court, Government cannot take action. There were no reasonable explanation given for any of their demands. When we clarified that two of the demands are already implemented, there was silence.

We then directly hit the raw nerve and asked them who is behind them and that who is driving them. The crowd pointed to Ayyakannu, which made us all the more suspicious given his history.

Shri Ayyakannu – Relationship with the RSS and Dr.Subramanian Swamy

Ayyakannu is a 68 old Lawyer from Tiruchirapally, Tamilnadu. He is well off and has several acres of farming land in Tiruchirapally and Musiri. His two sons are lawyers as well.
He was associated with the Farmers wing of the RSS – Bharatiya Kisan Sangh – and was the State Secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh at Tamilnadu. RSS fought for Horticulture relief fund against the Tamilnadu government during 2008 (http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Horticulturists-plead-for-relief/article15141955.ece) and he had a good role in the protest. That’s when he learnt some tactics of protesting effectively.

He has a pretty long association with RSS. Before joining RSS, he was a member of Janata Party led by Dr. Subramanian Swamy. He contested as Janata Party Candidate at Musiri, Tamilnadu during the 1977 elections. But he came last in the elections (http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=581&cid=158) and was defeated.

Ayyakannu’s ouster from RSS due to his protest with ulterior motive:

The method of his protests are inspired by the RSS. Ayyakannu used the protests as a means of blackmailing governments rather than solving problems. Hence discontent grew within the Farmer’s wing of RSS (Bharatiya Kisan Sangh – Tamilnadu Chapter).

He fought for rich landlords and succeeded in arm-twisting the then Jayalalitha Government at Tamilnadu in waiving off loans of these rich landlords. Tamilnadu State previously agreed to waive off loans of poor farmers by fixing a ceiling on land ownership. But Ayyakannu was demanding that the loan should be waived off irrespective of land ceiling. Genuine leaders of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh discovered that if Land ceiling is not limited, Ayyakannu himself would be a huge beneficiary of this waiver.
It was widely discussed that Ayyakannu had conducted series of private conversations with various rich landlords and industrialists at Tamilnadu. The motive of such discussions were not revealed. Bharatiya Kisan Sangh’s Tamilnadu Unit alleged that Ayyakannu could be “charging” the rich landlords for his “loan waiver services” to them. The relationship between Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and Ayyakannu became sore as a result. Bharatiya Kisan Sangh did not publicize the events to the media at that time because Ayyakannu had been a secretary and negative news on him may affect the Sangh. RSS affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh eventually snapped ties with him.In 2014, BJP formed government in the centre with Narendra Modi at the helm. Ayyakannu started “National Agriculturist Association” and became the Founder / President of that organization. Ever since he formed his own organization, several farmers from other states joined the organization. Most of the members have no idea about his association with RSS or Subramanian Swamy’s Janata Party. Also, members of this organization belonging to Haryana and Punjab visited Delhi on his behest and protested along with him. This is done to create a perception among Tamilnadu people that the farmer protest has support of other states.

Whom will this farmer protest benefit ?

This farmer protest will not benefit the poor farmers in any way. This farmer protest will be of huge benefit to those repeat offenders, who own large lands and deliberately default on loans. Most of the poor farmers borrow money from Private loan sharks at very high interest rates. Few of them approach NABARD for loans. The borrowings from Private agencies will not fall under the purview of Government waive off. NABARD will not press hard for recovering the money from poor farmers.

The ultra rich farmers and the rich land owners usually borrow from banks. The reason is that Banks usually provide higher loan amount than private agencies or NABARD. So any loan waiver will only benefit the rich and ultra rich farmers. It will definitely benefit the Middle class farmers. But Middle class farmers can afford to pay the interest on loans. In any waive off, the poorer sections rarely gets the benefit.

In the previous farmer protest led by P Ayyakannu at Tamilnadu, similar coercive tactics were used. Rats were bitten, semi-naked farmers rolled on the roads, protesters ate food on the roads and other such tactics were employed. The State government yielded to the protest.

So Ayyakannu is keen on applying the same pressure tactics against the central government in an attempt to get the ₹40,000 crore grant to Sasikala led AIADMK Government. It is to be noted that several Tamilnadu politicians are farmland owners who had borrowed from Banks.
Sasikala’s AIADMK Government is judged by people of Tamilnadu to be corrupt and inefficient. They have not given any account on the spending of recent central grant of ₹2000 crore. And if ₹40,000 crores are given, it would be a huge blow on the people of Tamilnadu as this will only benefit the politicians and the rich landlords of Tamilnadu.

Cauvery Water Board:
The other demands such as Cauvery Management Board formation are just to make the protest appear genuine. Supreme Court had directed the Centre to form Cauvery Management Board comprising of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Puducherri. However, Karnataka filed a review petition on October 1, 2016 in the Supreme Court against the judgement. In its review petition, Karnataka said the apex court’s orders have resulted in the miscarriage of justice. Karnataka also said that the setting up of Cauvery Management Board cannot be constituted by the Centre as it is not a party in the case. (http://www.asianage.com/india/cauvery-dispute-karnataka-files-review-petition-supreme-court-891) . When the case is in court, Centre cannot step in and bypass the court’s review of the petition.

Ayyakannu, being a lawyer, should know this fact very well. He is deliberately misleading the people in order to make his protest appear genuine.
Also, even if judgement arrives, the Court has not set a deadline for formation of Cauvery Management Board. Court has not specified how exactly will Cauvery Water Management Board solve the issue. Given the fact that Karnataka has only 20% water in its reservoirs (with many running dry), we see Interlinking of Rivers as the only solution to the problem. Interlinking of Rivers will take several years to complete as the project is complex in nature.

Banning of Fertilizer is Impractical. Modi implemented the solution already:

Banning of fertilizer will adversely affect the net agriculture output of India. Instead the usage has to be reduced.

Modi announced during the end of 2016 that it is compulsory for fertilizers to be coated with Neem derivatives. Neem is hailed in Ayurveda as a significant fungicide. Due to this move by Modi government, the sale of fertilizer has declined (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-fertiliser-sales-foodgrain-output-narendra-modi-neem-urea-4581174/).

Ayyakannu – being a literate and a lawyer – would very well be aware of these schemes. Nevertheless, he is including it in his demand just because people of Tamilnadu may not be aware of this and hence he could gain some traction.

PM Fasal Bima Yojana – the solution to this problem:On 13 January 2016, Narendra Modi launched a fantastic Crop Insurance scheme by the name Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. This scheme is the answer for ending farmer suicides. It provides compensation for farmers in case of flood, drought, crop failure, market fluctuations and others. Farmers can directly claim insurance just in case there is a crop failure for these reasons.

While many other States made use of it (especially Andhra, Uttarkhand, Uttar Pradesh), Tamilnadu has virtually ignored that scheme. The enrollment in the scheme is pathetically low in Tamilnadu.

This insurance scheme is a drastic improvement on Vajpayee’s NAI Scheme. The premium amount is very less (as low as 1.5% for certain crops) and there is no cap on the amount insured. Also this new scheme covers individual farm lands and not on district level as it was before. Hence an individual farmer can claim insurance. This is a scheme which can prevent the need for Loan waivers.

Drought in Karnataka vs Tamilnadu – A comparison:Just like Tamilnadu, Karnataka is facing a similar drought. There are some agricultural activity in southern and south western Karantaka. However the central, eastern and northern regions of Karnataka are in severe drought. In Tamilnadu, except for the Kaveri delta region and parts of Tirunelveli, other areas are facing drought conditions.

Karnataka’s total demand is ₹4,000 crores where are Tamilnadu demands ₹40,000 crores (10x more). Let’s analyze certain basic parameters of Karnataka and Tamilnadu.

# Karnataka has 1,23,100 Square Kilometers (1,23,10,000 hectares) of Agricultural Land of which about 73,860 Square Kilometers is said to be in drought. (http://www.isec.ac.in/Agri%20Profile-Karnataka.pdf). Agriculture land is 60% of total land area in Karnataka.

# Tamilnadu has 52,439 Square Kilometers (52,43,839 hectares) of Agricultural Land of which about about 34,330 Square Kilometers are said to be in drought (http://www.tn.gov.in/crop/LandusePattern.htm). Agriculture land is 40% of total land area in Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu is more industrialized than Karnataka and is the state with second highest GDP in India. As a result the area of agriculture is lesser.

Karnataka has demanded ₹4,000 crores as drought relief. But Sasikala led AIADMK Government in Tamilnadu is demanding an astronomical ₹40,000 crores, despite lesser area under drought than Karnataka.

On the surface, it is understood that Ayyakannu is politically linked to Sasikala group. He seems to be hell bent in arm-twisting the Centre to pay up ₹40,000 crores to Sasikala led AIADMK Government at Tamilnadu.
When we explained all this to the protesters and questioned their stance, they maintained silence.

The meeting with Union Ministers:

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met the protesters about three weeks back. Union Agriculture Minister also met them in a different appointment.

With both these ministers, the main demand has been the grant of ₹4,00,00,00,00,000 (₹40,000 crores) to Sasikala led AIADMK Government of Tamilnadu. The ministers explained that the grant of over ₹2,000 crores are to be provided to Tamilnadu. But the protesters were reiterated their demand for ₹40,000 crores.

The intent behind the farmer protest seemed clear to the union ministers. They have not met them after this. Tamilnadu MP Pon Radhakrishnan had also posed the same questions in Tamil language. But the protesters have not responded convincingly. He posted a live video on Facebook of his question. It is seen from that video that the protesters avoided that question. You can see that live video here : https://www.facebook.com/PonnaarrBJP/posts/1282999761783167.

It is understood now that even after receiving ₹2,000 crores, the State Government has not provided an account of the spend. But the protesters had not questioned the State on this.

Modi had not met them and should NOT meet them:
The protesters now want to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi had brought about so many schemes for the welfare of farmers all over India. However, because this farmer protest focuses on the grant of ₹40,000 crores, PM Modi realizes that this protest is politically motivated. He has not met them and will not meet them too. He should not rather. Meeting them will set a wrong precedence and hence Modi must avoid meeting them.

Different tactics for seeking attention were employed in this Farmer protest. The moment RK Nagar by-election was called off, dramatic acts of running nude on Delhi roads were enacted by the protesters.
Modi had already implemented Fasal Bima Yojana (Crop Insurance) Scheme which hugely benefits poor farmers. And Modi had already initiated action on River Interlinking scheme. So the only demand left out is the grant of ₹40,000 crores.

This is a political protest and not a Farmer Protest. The word “Farmer” sells at Tamilnadu and you may find that the word “farmer” will henceforth be liberally utilized in all instigated protests originating from Tamilnadu. Even if Modi meets them – the grant of ₹40,000 crores will be the demand and Modi will not agree on this. So the protest will continue even after that. This being the case, Modi should refrain from meeting them.

Why Delhi ? Why not protest at Tamilnadu?

Insurgencies and prolonged uncontrolled protests are a valid reason to dissolve the State Government according to Article 356 of Constitution. (http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport/v2b2-5.htm). In this case Separatist elements and Jihadist elements – through a set of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts – are fueling the anger and are diverting that anger against India and the Central Government. They have been successful to an extent. Even well educated crowd is somewhat convinced that Central Government is at fault – though Agriculture is a State subject !

We now realize that this Farmer Protest is political. If Ayyakannu and his team protest at Tamilnadu, it can quickly escalate and he could actually find people joining the protest in large numbers. Sasikala’s ADMK Government fears that the Centre would use this as a reason for dissolving her Government. This is the reason Ayyakannu is directed by her to protest at Delhi.

Whenever a set of people protest in Tamilnadu, they are promptly beaten up and locked up by the State Police. The State Government is keen on diffusing protests in the budding stage itself owing to the fear of dissolution of Government. Whereas at Delhi, Central government does not stifle the protesters unless they cross the limits.

People of Tamilnadu do not realize that the State police are responsible for stifling protests in the State premises. They accuse the centre on that too. Hence Tamilnadu Government are a lot relieved. As of now, Tamilnadu Government has powers without any responsibility.

Opposition Parties, Minority Organizations and Separatists:

AAP (Tamilnadu Unit) funds a few Facebook pages in their ₹520 Crore (Per Year) Media management budget. These pages routinely circulate memes targeting the central government. Many of these pages have good looking girls in their cover image to attract the youth (according to AAP IT Cell). Pages like “Arasiyal Unmaigal”, “Nakkal Mannan Koundamani”, “Ammavasai – Nagaraja Cholan”, “Tamizhan Memes” and a few other pages sympathize and promote AAP through their posts directly and indirectly.

Few of these pages are run by Minorities. Out of this, few pages – especially “Nakkal Mannan Koundamani” – creates fictional memes by writing statements on their own and attributing it to a BJP leader. If inquired, it will be revealed that the BJP leader had not made such statements at all.

Minority run pages like “TNM Media” (Tamilnadu Muslim Media) hate the BJP government owing to the fact that BJP does not appease minorities. TNM Media has a history of putting memes against BJP in general and Modi in particular. These minority run pages uses Tamil emotions to further their religious agenda. There has been prayers held in Churches to “dismantle” Modi Government.
Pages like “Chennai Memes” are promoting the protests by mere sensationalizing – in order to attain their personal target of two million memberships. This page has an associated website and through that website they earn money with Advertising. A negative meme actually boosts their revenue. In their quest to earn money, they deliberately twist any welfare announcement and sensationalize it against the Central Government. The page “Chennai Pasanga Da” posts memes against the Centre meaninglessly (at times), just to prove that they are neutral and are not connected to any political party.

Pages like “Tamil Desiyam”, “Memes Tamizha” and other such pages promote Separatist sentiments. It is not uncommon for these separatist pages to be supportive of Seeman and oppose BJP. News channels like NS7 (a Bulgarian (Europe) News Media house) are trying to get some decent viewership numbers and hence will sensationalize news against the central government.

These Facebook pages are responsible the chaos and misinformation. And in this Farmer Protest, they are virtually overdoing it. What’s more surprising is that people of Tamilnadu tend to blindly believe in the memes circulated by these pages – without caring to dig the truth.

The Religious Fundamentalist and Separatist Connection

The religious fundamentalist elements (jihadi sympathizers) and pro-separatist elements (who want India to be disintegrated) play around with people’s emotions in every recent protest at Tamilnadu. If you could remember, Jalikattu protests were hijacked since day two by pro-Jihadi and pro-Separatist elements.

There were references to Jihad. There are pictures of Osama Bin Laden stuck on a Two Wheeler. India Flag was torn and burnt. Additionally, there has been pamphlets that were distributed that called for physical abuse on Narendra Modi. The minority organization – Tamilnadu Tawheed Jamaat (TNTJ) had not really fought for Jalikattu, but attended the protest to divert public anger against BJP in general and Narendra Modi in particular.

The moment pictures were circulated on people conducting “Namaz”, we had an inkling that the protests were being hijacked. We cannot say Jihadi sympathizers instigate the protests. But they, for sure, try to hijack the narratives and divert the public anger against the Central Government.

They are keen on spreading hatred against the BJP and do not care much for Tamil causes. Pro-Separatist elements are bent upon on keeping people in an agitated state all the time – there by clouding the ability of people to think. The people then become victims of hysterical brainwashing, given their deprived ability to reason owing to their agitated emotional outburst. This is a sample from a Facebook post where the second comment has a reference to “Jihad” – this post is dated January 20th, 2017.


In every recent protest, this has become a pattern. This same set of crowd (pro-jihadi and pro-separatist) play around with the heightened emotions of people and divert those emotions against the central government – to fulfill their religious / political agenda. There by real issues remain unaddressed.

Who drives this Farmer Protest ?

RSS continued its association with Ayyakannu until Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. Though the RSS is overall supportive of Prime Minister, there are factions belonging to “Advani Camp” that are not happy with Modi ignoring senior leaders like Advani and Joshi.

At Goa, this faction of RSS formed a new party that ate into significant number of BJP votes. Ayyakannu had a strong association with the RSS as the state secretary of Farmers Wing of RSS (Tamilnadu Chapter).

Only after Modi became the Prime Minister, Ayyakannu was removed from the RSS (Tamilnadu Chapter). We speculate that Ayyakannu may be having the support of “Advani faction” of RSS (Tamilnadu Chapter). Ever since his removal, he has been directing Farmer Protests against the Central Government and not the State Government – that creates a slight suspicion.

Subramanian Swamy has been subtly coercing the Central Government into making him the Finance Minister. The rift between Jaitley and Swamy is well known. Swamy had toppled Vajpayee government in 1999 because he was not made Finance Minister.

However, his silent demand is not yet fulfilled. Modi is a strongman and he had won with absolute majority. Toppling this government is impossible. Tamil Nadu has given the NDA just 1 MP out of 336 then had won. Electorally, Tamilnadu cannot topple the Government and Swamy knows it too.

Intentionally or unintentionally, he tried to complicate Jalikattu protests by branding a section of Tamils (pro DMK) as “Porukkis” (Rogues). Facebook Pages and Tamil news media were quick to create negative portrayal against Swamy and the BJP, despite the party disassociating itself from Swamy’s comment and even condemning Swamy’s comments. The negative campaign on BJP indirectly helped Sasikala’s AIADMK.

Subramanian Swamy’s endorsement to Sasikala is no secret. While he may not plot against the central government, he seems to be keen on Sasikala gaining support in Tamilnadu. Swamy used to be vocal on every Tamil issue. However, the silence of Swamy on this farmer protest is deafening. It is also a fact that Ayyakannu was once an active member of Swamy’s Janata Party. Swamy’s support to Sasikala is a cause of concern and given that this agitation will benefit her, we couldn’t help speculate on this. However, this is just a speculation and not a suspicion as such.

We are extremely suspicious at the possibility that Sasikala is keen on getting the ₹40,000 crores grant from Central Government. Because the Farmer protests are entirely circled around this particular demand, it raises lot of suspicion. Though we strongly feel there is a close link between Ayyakannu and Sasikala’s AIADMK leaders, we could not find any tangible evidence of this link. We are trying to collect some evidences here so that we could present it before people. The fact that the protest are not happening in Tamilnadu but at New Delhi – almost confirms our suspicion that the farmer protest is purely political in nature.

Now that this information is out in public domain, it may not surprise us if Ayyakannu issues a mild statement against the State Government – just to cover up.

By diverting the public anger against Narendra Modi and the BJP, political leaders from Tamilnadu are in a safe haven. Nobody knows what happened to the ₹2,000 crore grant from the Centre that was released few weeks back. People in Tamilnadu are busy blaming the central leadership. Meanwhile, Tamilnadu politicians may be busy counting the money – without anyone noticing that.

Source-http://neonationalist.com/india/expose/farmer-protest-drama-delhi-423/

The great protesters engaged in a pathetic photo shoot for future propaganda

Sweeping changes to Australian visa programs that can affect Indian workers and immigrants

Sweeping changes to Australia's citizenship laws

Announcing sweeping changes to Australia's citizenship laws, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull unveiled tighter requirements for new applicants, a move that follows the scrapping of the 457 visa program for foreign workers.

Under the new reforms, the applicants must be permanent residents for at least four years, three years longer than at present, and must be committed to embrace "Australian values".

Prospective citizens will have to pass a standalone English test that will focus heavily on respect for women and children, with possible questions about child marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic violence.

The test will have questions assessing an applicant's understanding of and commitment to shared Australian values and responsibilities, Turnbull said. The number of times an applicant can fail the citizenship test has been restricted to three. At present the test has no such restriction. Apart from this, an automatic fail for applicants who cheat during the citizenship test has been introduced.

Unveiling the changes, Turnbull stressed that Australian citizenship was a "privilege" that should be "cherished". He said citizenship would only be granted to those who support Australian values, respect the country's laws and "want to work hard by integrating and contributing to an even better Australia".

"Citizenship is at the heart of our national identity. It is the foundation of our democracy. We must ensure that our citizenship program is conducted in our national interest," he added.

The Australian Prime Minister also stressed that English language proficiency was essential for economic participation and integration into the Australian community and social cohesion.

"Any conduct that is inconsistent with Australian values will be considered as part of this process," he said. "Criminal activity, including family violence or involvement in organised crime, is thoroughly inconsistent with Australian values."

The move comes after Australia announced it would abolish the popular 457 work visa used by over 95,000 foreign workers — a majority of them Indians — to tackle the growing unemployment in the country and replace it with a new programme requiring higher English-language proficiency and job skills.

The programme allows business to employ foreign workers for a period up to four years in skilled jobs where there is a shortage of Australian workers.

Best way to deal with Stone-Pelter Tie him to the front of the jeep

Best way to deal with Stone-Pelter Tie him to the front of the jeep - Army should update it tying them on all 4 or 5 sides.



A stone pelter in the Kashmir valley tied to a vehicle.

To deal with the sponsored stone-pelting mobs, the army may have employed a tactic that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have been using for decades. The IDF, which faces a similar situation in the West Bank and other areas inhabited by Palestinians, also ties stone-pelters to its vehicles to discourage mobs from throwing stones.

This comes just days after a video featuring a CRPF personnel showing immense restraint even when he is attacked by a stone-pelting mob at a polling booth in Srinagar went viral. The video shows the Jawan walking when suddenly a civilian attacks the soldier. The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday registered an FIR against the youth seen in the video.

VHP averts Conversion showcase event in Bangalore!

Conversion of over 10,000 people by Christian missionaries averted in Bangalore!

Source-Postcard Team Postcard | 2017-04-08T20:30:05+05:30 http://postcard.news/conversion-10000-people-christian-missionaries-averted-bangalore/

It is very well known fact that many of the foreign NGO’s are involved in rapid conversion programs in India and many developing countries. The Christian missionaries in the name of service to the poor and deprived are involving themselves in conversion.

Schambach Organisation is run by Patricia King and Donna Schambach from USA and is involved in large scale conversion of people and missionary work. This organisation travels to different places every month and promises to cure people’s disease and convert them to Christianity. This organization is targeting poor people in slums and rural areas. They are promised jobs, money and livelihood and are converted in the name of Jesus.

The same group had planned an event in Bangalore on 9th April called “Power and Reality of the Kingdom” in which over 10,000 people were to be converted to Christianity. The posters of this went viral on facebook which alerted many organisations in Bangalore.

The Virat Hindustan Sangam of Dr Subramanian Swamy and VHP who inquired about the event came to know it was a massive conversion event which was supported by the Congress government in Karnataka.

The members of the VHS and VHP immediately filed a complaint in the Foreign Regional Registration Office (VISA office) against the organisation and Patrika King and Donna Schambach, requesting immediate cancellation of their Visa.

The registration officer who took a note of this, cancelled the VISA of Patricia King and Donna Schambach who had claimed that they were visiting India on Business reasons.

Following this development, some paid media started blaming the VHS and VHP for getting the event cancelled and called them fringe elements. But looks like these media and journos have no knowledge about the law.

According to the Indian Visa norms, no person on a tourist or business visa can conduct any religious events, missionary work or involve in conversion. If the are found to have lied on Visa papers, they can land in jail for years and govt has every right to arrest them.

So basically, Patricia King and Donna Schambach lied on their Visa papers that they were on a business trip and had planned a massive event for conversion.
Take a look at their previous conversion events!

VHP man complains against US evangelists

TNN | Apr 8, 2017, 05.23 AM IST http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/vhp-man-complains-against-us-evangelists/articleshow/58074857.cms

BENGALURU: A Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist on Friday lodged a complaint against two American nationals, alleging that the duo had misused visa norms and entered India for the purpose of religious conversion.

VHP activist Girish Bharadwaj complained to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Shanthinagar alleging that Patrica King representing an NGO, XP Ministries, and Donna Schambach of Schambach Foundation were Christian evangelists and had come from the US to convert Hindus to Christianity. He alleged they came to India on a visa whose norms do not allow them to involve in preaching.

"As per rules, foreigners with any type of visa are not allowed to preach and propagate their religion in India. In t his case, these foreigners have applied for Indian visa only to attend religious campaigns. Clearly, they misled the Indian consulate," said Bharadwaj. Bharadwaj said King and Schambach were scheduled to attend a religious programme, 'Power & Reality of Kingdom' in Bengaluru on Saturday as chief guests. The event organizer did not respond to calls.

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Some Indian media report VHP as a FRINGE GROUP and some report it as though an innocent prayer meet was cancelled. So, VHP, RSS etc are to be perceived as villains by the general public of India who are always out to harass the people instead of the custodians of our motherland and faith that they actually are. A Hindu group that tirelessly works to save and protect our heritage is given the shade of an unjust undesireable villainous organization but foreign funded organizations are given a noble shade.

By blaming RSS, VHP and Modi for everything, they quietly go about their work of converting Hindus in India. Their only intention is to alter the fabric of Hindu India. They have successfully done this to a large extent due to the generally secular outlook of Hindus.

Politicians use this to create their vote bank and even actively and directly tell their flock to vote against BJP.

In the south, DMK, ADMK, congress and communists spend every day damning the BJP for being a Hindutva party and openly align themselves with every single christian and muslim organization in the name of protecting the downtrodden and minorities. The entire southern coastline of Bharath has been converted to christianity or islam by the active collusion of these anti-Indian crooked parties and these evangelists and islamic forces, all funded from outside India for the sole purpose of altering the population dynamics of our country.

Innocent and generally righteous Indians who do not believe this and fall for this narrative  very easily must be informed to the maximum so that they wake up now, open their eyes, before this whole land is lost % by %.

American evangelist's Bengaluru event cancelled after fringe groups accuse her of flouting visa rules, trying to convert

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/american-evangelist-donna-schambach-bengaluru-vhp-girish-bhardwaj-bahjrang-dal-visa/1/923594.html

American evangelist  Donna Schambach and two others - Patricia King and Apostle P S Rama Babu - were supposed to hold a programme called the Power and Reality of the Kingdom on April 8 and April 9 in Bengaluru.                                     

American evangelist Donna Schambach has been forced to cancel her event in Bengaluru after VHP leader Girish Bhardwaj lodged a complaint alleging that she had violated visa rules.

Schambach, along with two others - Patricia King and Apostle P S Rama Babu, was supposed to hold a programme called the Power and Reality of the Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday in Bengaluru.
In his complaint, Bhardwaj said that Schambach and her evangelist colleagues had violated visa rules, which clearly state that "no visas will be issued to evangelists who desire to propagate their religion in the country. The Government of India will not issue visas to evangelists who desire to come to India to attend religious campaigns."

Bhardwaj has alleged that Schambach and Patricia King clearly misled the Indian consulate and obtained visas by stating that they were coming to India to attend a "conference."

WORD 'HARVEST' IN TWEET SHOWS INTENT TO CONVERT: VHP
Speaking to India Today, Bhardhwaj said that the use of the word "harvest" itself indicated that they were here for conversion.

The first complaint was filed by Girish Bhardwaj, while the youth wing of the Bajrang Dal lodged another.

A massive protest was planned but the Bangalore police took cognisance of the complaint and denied permission to hold the meeting.

WHAT SHE TWEETED
Schambach in her tweet had said, "Amazing 2 days of harvest with Apostle Ram Babu and Patricia King in the interior of India. With Apostle Ram babu and his son Ankit. Close to 8000 souls in two days."
Soon after the protests began, Donna deleted her tweets.

When we contacted one of the organisers on the phone, they did not want to come on record, but said that the event had been cancelled due to unknown reasons.

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http://www.news18.com/news/india/now-christian-prayer-meet-called-off-in-bengaluru-after-saffron-groups-complain-1370068.html

Now, Christian Prayer Meet Called Off in Bengaluru Over 'Conversion' Allegations

                                       

Bengaluru: A Christian prayer meeting was cancelled in the country's IT capital Bengaluru on Saturday after complaints were lodged that this could facilitate forced conversions in the city which was to host two American preachers for this event.

The cancellation came just about 12 hours before the prayer meeting was to be held. Nearly 1,000 people were expected to attend the meetings spread over Saturday and Sunday. It was cancelled in the wake of protests lodged by Hindutva groups like the Bajrang Dal. A similar prayer meeting was cancelled in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh, after the Hindu Yuva Vahini, founded by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, alleged forced conversions (allegations that were later proven wrong) in the meeting that saw barely 150 people participating.

In Bengaluru, the first complaint was filed on Friday afternoon by one Girish Bhardwaj, who wrote to the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office — a police wing that tracks foreigners visiting Karnataka — that two American evangelists were in India for “religious conversion”, in violation of their visa norms.

"The two foreigners had applied for Indian visa only to attend religious campaigns. Clearly, they are misleading the Indian Consulate," he alleged.

Later on Friday, Bajrang Dal convenor Keshav Nayak filed a police complaint that this programme was "aimed at converting innocent Hindus….Iit was being held daringly in public, where cash would be offered to the converts. As such, it hurts the religious sentiments of the Hindus." He asked that the organisers be arrested and suitable legal action be taken.

That the programme was hastily cancelled was evident when News18 spoke to one of the organisers. "We have always held retreats and services at this church. This event, too, was only for our church parishioners. We don't know why questions are being raised about permission. We are not converting anyone, only Christians are attending this," said a puzzled prayer coordinator.

Interestingly, the programme actually charged participants Rs 100 if they wanted to attend it — and the posters did not make any claims of giving anyone money or gifts.

Police officials did not want to be drawn into the controversy but merely said they did not ask anyone to cancel any event. "If there are allegations of visa violation, we will verify. But if there are no non-Christians attending it, where is the issue of conversion? That too an event inside the premises of their own auditorium of a local church," said a senior police officer.

The programme — themed Power and Reality of the Kingdom — was to be held in a church in east Bengaluru. Comments on social media by the two preachers who posted pictures of their visit to a place in interior Maharashtra — where over 8,000 people are said to have attended — were objected to by Hindutva activists.

These events are not actual conversion events but serve to host converts who have been converted recently, to showcase them to the world, to get public funding across churches mostly in the USA.

Poachers work tirelessly every day to gather tiny drops that eventually make the ocean of harvested souls, that dramatically alter the social fabric of a society over a period of 50 years. Every Hindu in every street should always be on guard of such activities and atleast bring it to the attention of organizations like VHP and RSS.