India's Pluralistic Ethos

My Dear Fellow Indians, 

We are Indians and nothing but Indian.

An Indian is an Indian is an Indian, period.

As a nation, collectively we are Adivasis, Atheists, Bahais, Bos, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastrians and every possible grouping. We are Brown, Black, White, Yellow and green with envy, magar phir bhi dil hai Hindustani.

Our Motherland is represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture, and religion. We see God as one, none and many; and in every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and with innumerable names.

We are proud of our heritage - a multi-faith, multicultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives. For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Tribal traditions, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.  

We may want to consciously start thinking and acting as one people, one people within a nation and a community and one people globally. It’s like home when we are conflict free.  I do hope each one of us purges any bias towards the other, there is joy in being free from ill-will. Try to be free from this day forward… free from anything that prevents you from being a part of the whole. 

Our combined philosophies believe in one world ; Hinduism describes the world as Vasudaiva Kutumbukum, the whole world is one family, the idea of Ek Onkar(one) in Sikhism, you are all created from the same couple as Quraan puts it and Jesus embraced every one regardless of who anyone is... similar philosophies are grounded in all our religions. 

A few don't follow their own heritage and resort to thievery, loot, murder, terrorism, rioting, rapes, infanticide and other evils that destroy the fabric of the society,  but a majority of every group goes about their own way, living their life with struggles and ease and don't even bother others. We should build upon the 99% of the population and not on the less than 1% that does not follow any principles.

On this day, and every day from here forward, make a pledge to yourselves to talk about in terms of "I am an Indian" - and not Malayalee, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi.... or Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaee. Don't expect others to jump and say the same, give them the time and if you are consistent for at least a year, you will see others emulating you.

India led the way to the freedom movement, since 1947 every country has been liberated from colonialism. Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers.

We are inherently secular and economically capitalistic. We believe in "live-and-let-live" lifestyle, which is the essence of capitalism.  We respect everyone's right to eat, drink, wear or believe in whatever they want after all God created each one of to be a unique being with our own thumbprint, eye print, taste buds, religious buds, and DNA. 

Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences. Let’s continue to honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as finding the truth is our own responsibility. I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian-American.

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Indian Pledge of Allegiance

With a belief that every Indian wants justice and demands a fair treatment of every one of the 1.1 billion Indians; rich or poor, connected or not, we must come to grips with the social and community life to create an exemplary India, that will become a model nation in the world.

We have to figure out how to co-exist with least frictions. It is in your interests, my interest, and everyone's interest to have justice, which gives birth to sustainable peace and prosperity

We have to find solutions for people who go to the extremes; be them be Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian or other, hoping they would recognize the God-given space to each one of us and eventually see the benefits of co-existence.

I propose that the parliament of India introduce a bill for every political, cultural and religious organization in India to register with the Home Ministry, state their purpose, list their assets for public scrutiny, list the membership roster to be updated annually. Include a modified version of the 7 items into Indian Penal Code, and make it into the law to punish the violators of the law.

Patriotism should be defined in terms of what you do to uplift the hopes of people, in terms of education to all, jobs to as many as we can in each successive year, home for every human, and a better lifestyle to every Indian.

Every public office holder from the Peon to the President of India and everyone in between must take this pledge and live by it. Violation should disqualify him or her from holding the public office. Let it be monitored publicly.

1. I pledge allegiance to India, indivisible nation that stands for liberty and justice for all.

2. I pledge that I honor and treat every Indian with "full" dignity.

3. I pledge that all individuals would be treated on par.

4. I pledge that I will treat all religions with equal respect, equal access, and equal treatment.

5. I pledge that I will oppose any act that treats any Indian less than myself.

6. I Pledge that I will work for an India, where every individual can live with security and aspire for prosperity.

7. I pledge that I will protect, preserve and value every inch of India and every human soul in India

This would be the first step towards ensuring a Just, peaceful and prosperous India, that can sustain its progress and peace.

Click and enjoy:

Our National Anthem National Anthem 2 Twenty Patriotic songs on click India's Map

Jai Hind

Mike Ghouse

Committed to cohesive societies

www.MikeGhouse.net

http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/

PATRIOTIC SONGS

• Vande Mataram - AR Rahman
• Vande Mataram
• Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna ab
• Saray jahan say achha -1
• Saray Jahan say achha - lata
• Mere Desh Ki Dharti
• Mera rangde basanti chola
• Kar chalay hum fida,
• Jahan Daal Daal par sone
• Hum laye hain toofan say kishti
• Hai preet jahan ki reet sada
• Ganga Meri Maa ka Naam
• Apni azadi ku hum hargiz
• Apni Azaadi ko hargiz hum
• ai watan ai watan, tujh ko
• Ai mere pyaare watan,
• Aao bachcho tumheien sire
• A jo des hai tera - Shahrukh
• A desh hai veer jawanon ka

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel,India, interfaith, and cohesion at workplace and society. He is committed to building aCohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links. Most of his work is at www.CenterforPluralism.com 

Harassment of Sikhs in New York and Mississippi

HARASSMENT OF SIKHS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
Dr. Prabhojot Singh and Jageet Singh harassed in New York and Mississippi

URL - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/harassment-of-sikhs-in-ne_b_3997899.html 

We have ways to go to fully realize the value of our constitution, it is violated every day. We take the pledge that we are one nation under God with liberty and Justice for all, and yet we go out and tear the nation apart on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation, and take away the liberty and justice of others.  It is not acceptable, particularly if the violations come from the law enforcement officials. We have to fix this and we need all Americans to take a stand.

How many of us value our pledge, the pledge of allegiance?

Of course, the majority values it, but the tiny minority of about 1/10th of 1% of the people does not value any laws. That is the case in every aspect of life. It is that tiny group of individuals who violate the laws of the land or guidance of the religions as they did in Kenyan Shooting and bombing the Church in Pakistan.

Unity Day USA - September 11, 2012

Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Professor at Columbia University lives in one of the most urban of cities of America, New York. Last week he faced utter humiliation. Police said one of the men pulled Prabhjot Singh's beard while the teenagers yelled "get Osama" and "terrorist." Singh, who wears a turban per his Sikh religious tradition, and is a public advocate for interfaith dialogue, was kicked several times to the body and face.

Jageet Singh, a truck driver was pulled over by the Police in Mississippi, and the officers demanded that "Mr. Singh remove the Kirpan. When Mr. Singh explained that he was a Sikh and that the Kirpan was a sacred religious article, the officers laughed at him and mocked his religious beliefs. One officer declared that all Sikhs are "depraved" and "terrorists." They continued to taunt him, and forced Mr. Singh to circle his truck with his hands on his turban while they searched the vehicle. Finally, not content with this humiliation, they arrested him, claiming that Mr. Singh had refused to obey an officer's lawful command." On the top of that, Judge Rimes, ordered that Mr. Singh would not be allowed to re-enter the courtroom unless he removed "that rag" from his head and threatened to call Mr. Singh last on the docket if he continued to wear the religious headdress.  

First of all, as Americans we condemn the behavior of the teens, police officers and the judge, this is not acceptable in our country, and secondly, we need to penalize the involved and have them pay for it to set a precedent that this behavior is not acceptable.

What do we need to do in the long run? 

We need to learn about each other, not because it is a noble thing, but because we all have to live together with least tensions.

Our Founding Fathers laid the ground work for such a society, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

Martin Luther King Jr. said that we should be judged by what we can deliver, rather than our race, religion or ethnicity.

Chief Seattle, a Native American said this perfectly, "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does it to himself."

How are we going to preserve that delicate web? What issues divide us and how do we cope with them?  How do we allay the prevalent phobias? How do we focus on our vision for a prosperous America?

John F Kennedy was blunt, "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."  We need to channel that energy and passion in building a cohesive America.  

Every American must feel a sense of security, safety and freedom. If we can learn to respect the otherness of others and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Last year on September 11, we held Unity Day USA, an inclusive event that brings Americans of different faiths, or no faith and races together. In its 9^th years, the Sikh community was highlighted for the outstanding Model behavior they created in response to the Wisconsin shooting; we also focused on the 1984 Sikh Genocide of New Delhi in our 6^th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event. It was good for the fellow Americans to learn and know about them, and we hope to continue to do programs to bring people together, so we can learn about each other.

If we can learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of the 318 Million Americans, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day - More about Mike at www.MikeGhouse.net