India Together - Fostering a cohesive India

I am a volunteer like each one of you, wanting, among other things to do my share of work in contributing towards a cohesive India, where no Indian has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. 

Given the divisiveness we are witnessing in India, we have to take steps to restore the Dharma, the righteousness in a society where people trust each other, live their lives and let others live theirs.

Here is the preamble for an India together Campaign;

India has an impeccable history of welcoming the stranger and giving refuge to the oppressed, rejected and the evicted. She has welcomed Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and the Baha’is. Indeed the very first mosque built outside of Arabia was in India by a Hindu King in the state of Malabar. The Tibetan Buddhist refugees found a home in India; the Ahmadiyya Muslims felt secure, so were the displaced Bangladeshi and Afghan refugees.

This beautiful pluralistic 5000-year-old tradition of India is in peril now.  A few politicians are hell-bent on destroying that heritage. They want to force minorities into obedience and tell them what they can eat or believe, and whom they can marry or live as 2nd class citizens.  We can ignore this if it is a random individual screaming on the streets, but it has the backing of many members of the ruling party.  We cannot compromise on our integrity to satisfy the short-term urges of the radicals.  We cannot let this continue even if someone has pulled a joke, this fire will envelop everyone, and in the end, it will destroy our civilization. 

Make no mistake about it; the problem is not between people of faith, but the radicals. A good Hindu, Muslim, Christian or other will never hurt another individual, let alone kill. As a society we need to invest our time and energy in finding why a few people hate the others so much, much of it is injected by their parents, teachers, friends, and politicians, poor souls need to be free from such influences. 

India together Campaign

When you are watching a movie, invariably you go through a range of emotions, but at the end, there is a sense of joy when you see the family members making it up to each other, or when a couple is reunited or when justice is served. It is because you are inherently good and the sense of goodness is evoked in every human with a few exceptions.  

The new routine for many of us is to watch short video clips on WhatsApp or Facebook. Is there anyone out there who does not feel good when the Indian Army personnel is talking about treating all soldiers fairly, when one needs blood, he does not care if the blood is coming from a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Dalit, Jain or a Parsee. A good video example;-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5XptU6-Vm0

Don't we feel good when we help each other? When you support a disabled person crossing the street, don't you feel good? Don't you share that clip with your friends?

If you are a Muslim stand up for the rights of Dalits, and if you are a Sikh stand up for the rights of Christians, and if you are a Christian stand up for the rights of Hindus..... in the end, it opens our hearts and minds to stand up for each other. We have to kill the selfishness in us to serve our own, and instead server others for the long-term good.

On the other hand, when you watch a clip full of hate, what does it do to you? Does it make you angry, hateful and revengeful? It zaps your energy. Being at peace is a natural state, getting worked up ain't. 

Humans are drawn to greater good, and they feel good when a family comes together, they feel good when they can stop a bad guy from beating a child or a woman, they feel good when you prevent a woman from being harassed. 

We have a responsiblity now to encourage what is right, not because it is noble or God wants it, but because it makes us feel good and secure and live in peace with each other. 

Dr. Frank Islam has chosen to encourage good news, every week I see an article promoted by him that awakens a sense of goodness. I see Nupur Sharma, Vinod Dua, Ram Punyani, Arfa Khanum, Acharya Laksmishankracharya, Acharya Pramod Krishnan and a whole lot of them committed to bringing about a change.  None of us would know everyone, but those whom we know, we must be appreciated.    I am sure there a many of you out there who are doing great things. If we can pull our resources and invest our time, energy and money in shaping the society, we will find purpose and meaning in our lives, at least it will bring relief from apprehension. 

Social media has become the most powerful medium to communicate ideas, and Whatsapp and Facebook have become the vehicles to carry the chosen message. 

We have an opportunity to mitigate chaos spread by a few and flood the market with excellent videos and positive news to build up positive energy. If the people around us are secure, our security is guaranteed. 

Proposal

Produce one to two minutes videos and share it on the social media - and see how you can bring about the change.

It's easy to produce videos that we can cheer, but the purpose is to for the angry ones to see the goodness. We can cause them to dig in their heels or we can work on having them see another point of view - that of getting along and live their lives and letting others live theirs.

You can bring a gradual, sustainable and positive change through this campaign

It takes thinking, commitment,  effort, and money to do this, if you can, welcome. Come up with ideas, write the script, discuss with friends and produce it.  

Mike Ghouse
www.TheGhouseDiary.com

Thank you

What do we do at the Center for Pluralism

Pluralism studies in Religion, politics, society, culture and workplace

http://centerforpluralism.com/what-do-we-do-at-center-for-pluralism/ ;

Mike Ghouse
Center for Pluralism
Washington, DC
(214) 325-1916
Mike@CenterforPluralism.com
www.CenterforPluralism.com

Re-defining the bilateral partnership of India and United States

Courtesy - Free press Journal

— By Frank Islam | Dec 20, 2017 07:52 am

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Since the late 1990s, bilateral ties between India and the United States have blossomed under successive Republican and Democratic administrations. They have strengthened and deepened to such an extent that, on his first visit to India in 2009, President Barack Obama characterised the relationship between the two great nations as “one of the defining partnerships for the 21st century”.

Because of Donald Trump’s unexpected election as US President in November of 2016, the year 2017 began with serious questions about the future of that partnership. This was due to the President-elect’s vow as a candidate to rewrite many treaties and to bring about sweeping changes to America’s international commitments.

During a campaign event, Trump had pledged to his Indian-American supporters that he would work to reinforce and improve relations with India. Nonetheless, his professed America First policy and attacks on H-1B visas created some apprehension in New Delhi about the direction his administration would take with regard to India.

That was the news of concern in January at the beginning of the Trump presidency. The good news is that those concerns were unwarranted. As the year draws to a close, it can be reported that the US-India relations have been, thankfully, one of the few alliances that withstood the tumultuous volcano that is the Trump presidency. While the Trump administration did revisit or shelve a number of treaties and alliances, including the Paris climate accord, NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year, it stayed the course in its relationship with New Delhi.

The Trump administration as well as the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserve credit for sustaining this momentum. They accomplished this by focusing mainly on areas where they are on the same page — such as cooperation on defence and terrorism — and not letting issues such as H-1B to become irritants. One of the symbolic successes and highlights of the year was unquestionably Modi’s Washington visit in late June. The two-day working visit was an eagerly anticipated event.

President Obama had hosted the prime minister at the White House in 2016. Prior to that, in 2015, Obama had visited New Delhi to be the Guest of Honour at India’s Republic Day celebrations. As a result of these interactions, Modi had forged a good rapport with President Obama. Whether Modi — a practitioner of personal diplomacy who believes in nourishing and nurturing friendships with world leaders — would succeed in establishing a similar rapport with Trump was on everyone’s mind, prior to their get-together.

When the two leaders met at the White House, there were good vibes and strong indications that they would be able to establish a collegial and cordial working relationship. Trump and Modi displayed camaraderie again and a shared perspective when they conferred on the side-lines in Manila at the ASEAN meeting in November.

This is evidence that the evolving India-US relationship is on solid ground. A pair of high-level visits to India provided additional evidence. In September, Secretary of Defense James Mattis became the first senior cabinet member of the Trump administration to visit India. In late October, Secretary of State Tillerson was in New Delhi on his maiden visit.

A third piece of evidence of the high priority given to the India relationship by the US was the naming of Kenneth Juster as America’s 25th ambassador to New Delhi in September. Though the delay in nominating an envoy — the position remained vacant for more than eight months — had raised concern among Indian watchers, Juster’s appointment was universally welcomed in both New Delhi and Washington.

Juster is a trade expert who had served as a deputy assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council. He has had considerable experience and is a veteran in dealing with India. He represented the US side during the negotiation of the historic civil nuclear deal nearly a decade ago. He also co-chaired the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group.

The progress on the India-US front was not limited to the political and policy arena. Importantly, another positive trend for the year was the continued uptick in trade between the two countries.

By the end of October, the bilateral trade in goods was more than $62.2 billion, a 10 percent increase from the same 10-month period in 2016. This is a powerful signal that trade will remain a cornerstone in relations in the years to come. In a nutshell, 2017 has been a good year for the evolving India-US “partnership”.

As Modi commented at the ASEAN Summit in November, “The cooperation between India and the US can rise beyond bilateral cooperation and both countries can work for the future of Asia and the world”. Speaking for the White House at the Summit, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah stated that the countries have a “strong relationship that is going to get stronger”. Shah also said that the US-India relationship should “not be contingent” on any other relationship.

Actions speak louder than words. In 2017, the reality has aligned with the rhetoric. The seeds have been planted and are being nurtured for an even stronger and more substantial alliance between India and the US in the future.

This is not a guarantee that 2018 will bring bigger and better things for the India-US “partnership”. Factors such as domestic concerns and/or unrest within either country or an international incident could impede progress going forward. At this point in time, however, it can be stated that this “defining partnership” continues to be defined and that is a good thing.

Frank Islam is an Entrepreneur, civic leader and thought leader based in Washington, DC. The views are personal.

Ayodhya - a good story from Ram Janambhoomi

This is a good story of communal harmony in Ayodhya, indeed, there are many such stories in a series of article on Ayodhya published at http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com . We appreciate Dr. Frank Islam for taking the initiative to promote good stories to uplift people and put them on the pathway to cherish each other’s life.  We hope to open our offices in India soon to give a boost to the ideals of pluralism, i.e, respecting the otherness of other and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us.

Mike Ghouse
Center for Pluralism

‘There was never an iota of communal hatred in Ayodhya’

IANS|Economic Times

Updated: Dec 03, 2017, 12.32 PM IST

Courtesy Economic Times –

Locals, both Hindus and Muslims, say “outsiders” who came to Ayodhya in 1992 stirred trouble while locals were busy saving each other — irrespective of their religious faiths.

This is a town held sacred for its association with Hindu religious lore, which in latter days acquired the unflattering reputation of being a hotbed of Hindu-Muslim antagonism and religious-political conflict whose reverberations are felt both nationally and internationally. But what is little known, and may be even difficult to believe, is that Ayodhya has traditionally been known for its inter-faith harmony where it is not out of the ordinary for a Muslim tailor to stitch clothes for the idol of Ram or for a Hindu priest to help renovate an old mosque.

As  India approaches 25 years of the apocalyptic demolition of the 16th century  Babri Masjid on December 6, citizens of Ayodhya take pains to talk about their age-old heritage of cultural collaboration and free participation in inter-religious activities which has kept the secular fabric of the twin intact — despite the dragging temple-mosque politico-legal dispute over 2.7 acres of prime land whose ownership is contested by both Hindus and Muslims.

Locals, both Hindus and Muslims, say they were “outsiders” who came to Ayodhya in 1992 and stirred trouble while locals were busy saving each other — irrespective of their religious faiths — from the brunt of the riots that ensued. Out of the town’s total population of around 60,000, Muslims account for only six per cent. But they never felt any discrimination from Hindus, says Mohammed Chand Qaziana, priest at the Dargah of Sayyed Mohammad Ibrahim.

Qaziana said that the dargah was protected by local Hindus when the kar sevaks, or Hindu religious activists who came from outside the town, demolished the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992, on the ground that it was erected there by invading Mughal emperor Babar after razing a temple dedicated to Ram, the revered warrior-god of Hindus.

“This 900-year-old dargah has followers from the Hindu community as well, many of whom regularly pay a visit here. It is a symbol of our centuries-old harmonious existence. When it was attacked, our Hindu brothers formed a human shield around it and saved it,” Qaziana recalled to IANS.

Faizabad district, in which Ayodhya falls, has about 30 per cent Muslim population. Qaziana said there is an unannounced understanding among the people here not to fall prey to hate speeches of politicians and outsiders.

What makes communal harmony special here is the participation in inter-faith events and rituals — Muslims stitching clothes for Hindu deities, participating in Ramleela (religious theatre based on the life of Ram) or doing namaz (prayers) in Hindu religious places; and Hindus similarly contributing to mosque renovation or helping Muslim fellow townspeople in times of need.

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Echoing Qaziana’s views, Barfi Maharaj, who identifies himself as a Hindu social worker, said the Masjid was razed on December 6 by  Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) hotheads and locals had no role in it.

“We were neither influenced by hate speeches nor did we participate in the demolition drive. It was VHP that brought outsiders to demolish the Masjid. How can people from the birthplace of Ram, who is known for his secular teachings, commit such a sinful act?” asked Barfi Maharaj.

Giving examples of inter-faith harmony in the town, he said that a mosque near Hanumangadhi in Ayodhya was being renovated by a Hindu mahant (priest) while a Muslim tailor had been stitching clothes for the idol of Ram that is installed in the makeshift temple at the disputed site of Babri Masjid.

Sadik Ali, alias Babu Khan, said he had stitched seven to eight sets of clothes for the Hindu gods so far. Sadik, who is said to be a stakeholder in the negotiations in the issue, called  Babri Masjid demolition “unfortunate” but said he had no problem in the construction of  Ram Mandir on the disputed land.

“We do have faith in Ram. We had offered namaz at Hanuman Gadhi. If Hindus want big temples for their beloved god, we do not have a problem. We just want a piece of land nearby for a mosque,” Ali said.

Mohammed Salim has been making ‘khadav’ (wooden sandal), which were traditionally used by sadhus and priests but are now largely used in temples.

Salim said his family had been selling khadavs since generations which are usually bought by temple priests. “I have never witnessed any tension between the two communities here. We depend on each other for our needs and we respect each other,” he said.

The mutual understanding and respect for Hindus and Muslims here — revealing to an outsider — figure prominently in the region as one talks to the locals who, irrespective of their religion, slammed political leaders for vitiating the issue in an attempt to get electoral mileage.

A local contractor, Shailendra Pandey, said the people of Ayodhya were hardly consulted on what has come to be known as the Mandir-Masjid issue and politicians used Ram and the temple issue for their personal gains.

“You go anywhere in the city and talk to anyone. You will not find an iota of communal hatred among them. The unholy politics by outsiders has given our city a negative image,” Pandey said.

Mohammed Naeem, who is the president of Naugaja Dargah, said politicians were now creating hurdles in the way of the temple construction.

“This town is a perfect example of religious harmony and secularism, thanks to its rich culture and history. Everyone would be happy if the contentious issue is resolved amicably. However, we feel the politicians have kept this issue pending for their selfish motives,” Naeem said.

Whatever be the difficulties and complexities in the Mandir-Masjid issue, there will not be any negative impact in the socio-religious fabric of the city, feel the people of Ayodhya, once the kingdom of Ram, known for being a model of good governance in that era.

(This feature is part of a special series that seeks to bring unique and extraordinary stories of ordinary people, groups and communities from across a diverse, plural and inclusive India, and has been made possible by a collaboration between IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Saurabh Katkurwar can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in)A