“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!”

“So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked.”

“In religion, India is the only millionaire… the One land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.”

-Mark Twain, American Author

There are scores of WESTERN SCHOLARS who have made similar or even more profound statements. Arnold Toynbee, William Jones, Will Durant, Albert Einstein, Henry David Thoreau, R. W. Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are just few of them.

They were all great people who achieved greatness due to the masterly work done in their own fields and who were not mouthpieces for any ideology or religion.

They said what they thought was right as they had no vested interest.

India has always welcomed all the religions and faiths with open arms throughout the history. In fact, the Syrian Church came to India in first century in Kerala and always lived peacefully embracing even local customs and cultural values. The problems started only after 16th century after the arrival of Jesuits who broke the Syrian Church in two. The whole world knows that every faith, every religion was accepted with warmth and everyone could practice their religion peacefully in India.

There is no country in the world where Muslims enjoy SUCH democracy as here.

There is no country in the world, not even any Muslim country, where Muslims are subsidized for Haj pilgrimage. And this country has more than 80% Hindus who get no subsidy for any pilgrimage and HINDUS DO NOT EVEN ASK FOR IT.

And some media and some pseudo-secularists have the temerity to say that Muslims are discriminated and persecuted in this country.

The population of Hindus has declined very sharply in both Pakistan and Bangladesh in last sixty years as against the population of Muslims in India, which has risen by more than 100% since independence. What does this mean? Is that the persecution of Muslims in India? Or persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh?

Our scriptures have verses that guide us to respect all belief-systems, guide us to speak truth, which is not apriya, and speak priya, which is not untruth.

We have co-existed with all different religions peacefully in the truest sense, embraced their values, embodied their culture and accepted their festivals as ours without making any noise.

We have hundreds of bhajans and kirtans where we invoke names of prophets of other faiths without ever thinking that they do not belong to US.

We have so many prayers which guide us to pray for peace and happiness to everyone.

And this one is from Rigveda:

“Aa no bhadrah rutavo yantu vishvatah”

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.

This greatness of India is being threatened by the barbaric acts of terrorists, passiveness of our spineless leadership and indifferent common men.

What is happening in India today can be mainly ascribed to three factors viz.

1. The stinking vote-bank politics
2. The hugely corrupt, self-seeking electronic and print media (thankfully there are some still neutral, unbiased) and the so-called pseudo-secularist intelligentsia
3. Apathetic common men, engulfed in parochialism, regionalism and indifferent to the happenings all around him, cocooned in his shell with predominant thought of WHY WORRY AS I AM SAFE.

Almost two thousand three hundred years ago, Chanakya had said that THE HARM CAUSED TO BHARATVARSHA BY THE INACTION OF WELL-MEANING PEOPLE WAS VASTLY MORE THAN THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE ACTION OF THE EVIL-DOERS.

The time has really come for the most potent force, THAT IS US, to exert itself.

I call upon all my countrymen to rise in unison, UTTISHTHA BHARATA, leaving aside their parochial and regional interests and start pondering into the probable DARK future, which is not even distant anymore. In fact the so-called parochial and regional interests too will be definitely served if we can survive.

And for the betterment of ourselves as well as for the entire mankind, survive we must, as Hindus are the most secular, peace-loving and tolerant people on earth. And in the words of Dr Arnold Toynbee, British Historian (1889-1975):

“It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in history, the only way of salvation for mankind is the Indian way.”

It should not really matter whether one is a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian or is of any other faith as long as his heart is beating for India. He has to realize that in the well being of India, lies his own well being.

So, if your heart is squirming, if your blood is boiling and if you are tormented, then you ought to do the following.

1. Boycott, massively and absolutely, ALL THOSE POLITICIANS, WHO HAVE THE TRACK RECORD OF INDULGING INTO VOTE-BANK POLITICS. Which means that we should not have any one-to-one meeting, have no social get-together, not attend any of their meetings, nor go for any of their speeches. No invitation should be given to these politicians for any social events. And should not accept any of their invitation for any meeting or social events. If there is any opportunity or have any chance one-to-one unavoidable encounter, ask them ONLY these questions as to WHY CAN THEY NOT STOP THIS KIND OF POLITICS. WHY, AFTER 1993 BLASTS, NO EFFECTIVE DETERRENT HAS STILL BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE LEGISLATION FOR TAKING STRONG ACTION AGAINST THE TERRORISM.

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TEACH THE LESSONS TO THE POLITICIANS IS ROBBING THEM OF THEIR OPIUM. AND THEIR OPIUM IS PEOPLE, THE MASSES, AND THE CROWD.

2. Boycott, all those media personnel, who you strongly perceive to be PLAYING THE PSEUDO-SECULAR CARDS, WHO indulge in shameless falsehoods. Boycott them socially, do not invite and do not accept invitations. Do not watch their TV channels or programmes and do not buy their newspapers. If you ever have any accidental one-to-one encounter, ask them why they spread falsehoods. Why they only highlight certain events and why they push under the rug, other events. If you think they are biased, you have to ask them for explanation and you have got to get satisfied. If you are into business, or if you are in a position of some kind of decision-making situation for placing advertisements, do not give the advertisements to these media.

3. Try and be more caring, be more vigilant and give few moments to yourselves into thinking WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY AND IF SUCH THINGS KEEP HAPPENING WHAT IS OUR OWN FUTURE, AND WHAT CAN WE LEAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN. PLEASE TRY AND BE MORE PRO-ACTIVE POLITICALLY.

4. Come out in massive numbers and vote above your regional lines. Use your vote as a weapon to protect our religion and our culture. Our languages and our religions may be different but our value system and our culture is same. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT and vote for those candidates who promise to deal with the terrorism with strong hand.

5. Shed your apathy; do not go to hill stations or on vacation when there is an election. Go out and vote in record numbers.

6. I appeal especially to my Muslim and Christian brothers that if you are feeling tormented by this terrorism, come out in open and condemn with all your might all those who are responsible for it. And do it with all the power at your command. Do it like Salim Khan. Gather your guts and make a beginning.

FINALLY LET ME END MY APPEAL TO YOU WITH A QUOTE FROM WILL DURANT’S BOOK.

Will Durant, ends his chapter on India in Our Oriental Heritage with the important gains to the West that come from the culture of India:

One cannot, conclude the history of India as one can, conclude the history of Egypt, or Babylonia, or Assyria; for that history is still being made, that civilization is still creating…

As invention, industry and trade bind the continents together, or as they fling us into conflict with Asia, we shall study its civilizations more closely, and shall absorb, even in enmity, some of its ways and thoughts.

Perhaps, in return for conquest, arrogance and spoliation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit, and a unifying, pacifying love for all living things.

-Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage, 633

(Writer Udit Shah is based in Canada. He writes in Gujarati newspapers occasionally)