Modi on Track to Cripple India

Mike Ghouse

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India does not speak up on the issues that are tearing the nation apart, and if he fails to restore freedom to speak, eat, drink, wear and believe what India’s constitution guarantees, and if he fails to warn the extremists in his party from destroying the social fabric of India, he will cripple the nation, making it a Langda India as we call it in Hindi.

For India to succeed as a nation, it has to stand on its own two firm feet; prosperity and social cohesion. The two are dependent on each other; one will not happen without the other. Indeed, prosperity will be short-lived if the social structure crumbles.

Bringing prosperity comes through raising income levels of all the sons and daughters of India;  pulling the ones in ditches onto a level playing field to build a larger middle class and to expand the consumer base, whose consumption will create jobs, builds up the economy,  and raise the standards of living. The more people do well, the better the nation does.  Modi is talking big about it, and we can give him two full years to produce results.

Social cohesion on the other hand is like the cohesion in the human body, where the heart, brain, kidneys, liver, lungs, digestive track and all parts of the body need to function cohesively to live a normal life.

Failure of one organ can cause dysfunction in others.   If you think the discharge part of the body is less important, wait till it stops, it will give headaches and will affect how we function. Likewise, all people in a society have to function cohesively, and it is in the interest of the body that it makes up for deficiencies in our part through a system of integration. As humans, and as Indians we have to meet those deficiencies in fellow Indians for the common good, and our own security and well being.


Remember, I cannot be safe if people around me are not, and if I threaten others, I am equally frightened at my vulnerable moments. No one will be safe, including Hindus who may not think much of the situation in India now, but eventually they will get hit too.

Those of you who are blinded by the love for Mr. Modi, I appeal to you to look for greater love for the nation. Modis will come and go, but the Nation will continue. I am challenging your patriotism;  none of us want India to go down, so let our loyalty be to India and not Modi, until he proves that he can keep these two functions in shape, I will hold my praise for him, will you?

We have to be truthful and brutally honest.  For the sake of the long term security of each one of us, we have to learn to openly express and listen to it with civility. We need to criticize the inept government and cut them down to pieces. Indeed, that is our patriotic duty to prevent our nation from falling apart. 


I can never forget Indira Gandhi’s emergency rule. Her goons got away with sordid acts of blackmailing, harassment and vandalizing.  Now, I see a replication of the same under Modi. He lives in a bubble surrounded by Chamchas (sycophants) who say everything is alright… but everything is not alright.

I cannot thank Ramnath Goenka of Indian Express and others who went to jail instead of pandering to Indira.  I cannot thank enough Mahatma Gandhi and the freedom fighters that took the beatings and went to jail for disobeying and criticizing the British colonial governments. God bless them!  Because of them we have that freedom, and I thank all those men and women who are protesting and standing up against the goons. 
 

Nehrus, Indiras and Modis will come and go, but India will continue and we have an obligation to save India.  Indeed, by doing so, we are protecting the future of every Indian.

Do you remember the song?

Sikander bhi aaye, khalandar bhi aaye,
No koi raha hai, na koi rahega;
Mera desh azaad hoke rahega,

Mera desh azaad hoke rahega.

Those of you cheering for Modi now, will come to regret it, unless Modi gets his act together.  All that prosperity will go down the tube if no one feels secure. When injustice waxes to the extreme, it will tear the nation apart; the rich will run out of the country for safety, and ugly communism may run in under the banner of redistribution of wealth and equalizing inequality.

 It is time to wake up!  Remember: Modi had given terrorists three days to finish their slaughter during the Gujarat Riots, and now he has probably given three years to finish freedom in India. Possibly the process has begun.

Thank God for the conscience of Indians!  They are speaking up against bad governance. Modi better not mess with Narayan Murthy, Raghuram Rajan and Siddaramaiah, – if he does, or does not stop inciting his goons, the whole nation could revolt.

I don't want my India to be a Langda India, do you? If we all wake up and criticize Mr. Modi, guess what will happen? He will be compelled to do the right thing. Don't you want that?

WHAT DO WE WANT?

Mr. Modi to speak up! That is it.  

He can address the nation this way; “I am the Prime Minister of all Indians. I will get blamed for the bad things that happen in India, and I am not going to put up with that.  From this moment, everyone who messes with their fellow Indians will be punished severely, and if they have staged acts like the one in Dadri, everyone involved will be punished severely.  This is my last warning and action will follow.” 

“Furthermore, I declare that no one will compel or tell other Indians what to read, write, eat, drink, wear or believe.”

This is all we want. 

Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached.
Swami Vivekananda must have meant this for Indians in 2015.
It is also published at Sanjiv Bhatt's facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sanjivbhattips/posts/10207972138322487

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, politics, human rights, foreign policy and building cohesive societies. Mike offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at TheGhousediary.com, and all about India at http://MikeGhouseforIndia.Blogspot.com  

Muslim Response to All India Muslim Personal Law Board's appeal

While applauding the position taken by the All India Muslims Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), we hereby acknowledge a few key points about the politics of International Yoga Day and pleased to make a few suggestions. It is a delicate issue, and I pray that Muslims will follow the principles set in motion by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and commit to mitigating the conflicts and nurturing goodwill for the common good of the society.

The AIMPLB  sent a letter to these bodies and individuals, Maulana Wali Rehmani, working general secretary of the AIMPLB, has asked for constant vigil against attacks on Islam’s teachings. AIMPLB has also targeted the central government for propagating yoga, surya namaskar and vande matram, “which are part of Brahmin Dharma” and “are against the ideology of Muslims”.

Muslims, Rehmani has said in the letter, must be aware of their ideology, and must research extensively before agreeing to accept any suggestions on changing their beliefs. The government, he has alleged, has been pushing activities like yoga only to hide its failures on poll promises such as controlling prices and retrieving black money stashed abroad.

Acknowledgements;

1. Muslims are not concerned about Yoga, it's been around as long as they know,  but  they are concerned about the agenda of Hinduizing Muslims that is birthing in series of actions. It is a legitimate jungle after the Ghar Wapsi Drama.

2. While Mr. Modi wants to uplift the nation, his bhakts in his name are messing up the cohesive fabric of the nation. Making statements like, “those who are opposed to should jump in to the sea – Yogi Adityanath.” Who is he to tell me that? If I were to face him, I will tell him to take the lead and go jump in chillu bhar pani (fistful of water).  

3. The Opportunist French man François Gautier writes, "By opposing yoga in schools they (Muslims) are showing that they are Muslims first and Indians second." Gautier is hell bent on placing wedges between Hindus and Muslims; we have seen the likes of him in Cornwallis and Wellesley who succeeded in the past, do we want men like him to continue to dupe and divide us?

4. A few extremists among Hindus look to it as a stepping stone for fulfillment of their dream of pushing India to become a 100% Hindu Nation, completely ignoring the teachings of Hinduism and the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum and our pluralistic heritage of live and let live.  Can we call them legitimate Hindus? Their acts are certainly not Hindu. 

Suggestions;  

1. Congratulate Mr. Modi for creating a successful day of Yoga, we are proud of the Hindu heritage and its benefits to humanity.

 2. Thank the opposition and the GOI for withdrawing the compulsory clause demanding participation from every Indian.

3. The role of leaders, Muslim or otherwise is to advise, but not to mandate it; we leave it up to the individuals to exercise their choice of participating or not in the exercise of Yoga.

4. We are proud of India, and want to preserve its character of free pluralistic democratic nation, where we respect the otherness of others and not impose our ideals on others.  We do not want India to emulate Saudi Arabia or Pakistan where the minorities are pushed into observing Ramadan. We want others to copy the Indian model where every human has a right to eat, drink, wear and believe whatever he or she wants to believe.

5. Let them tear India down; we will put it back together. 

6. We are proud of our heritage – a pluralistic democracy where each individual follows his own conscience in being a productive citizen of the collective nation.

Yoga Day, a wrong approach by Government of India
Yoga is the best thing that has happened to humans. It is good for human body as it  increases the cohesive functioning of mind, body and the soul. What messes our body is what we consume; food, water and air, and its regulator in the form of exercise. 
https://www.saddahaq.com/politics/yogaday/yoga-day-a-wrong-approach-by-government-of-india

Modi's bubble and the Chamcha CulturePrime Minister Modi is making all the classic mistakes of a man sitting inside the bubble, oblivious of the chaos outside the thin veil of the bubble. The men who keep him in euphoric status are called “Chumchas” – the “Yes men” of India who will ultimately let their bosses fall from grace. Full article at: http://www.countercurrents.org/ghouse050615.htm

Surya Namaskar and Muslim Response

The Surya Namaskar is a Hindu religious tradition, a beautiful act of bowing to the Sun and welcoming the first rays of dawn as an expression of gratitude to the energy it breathes in to life and everything about life.http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/01/surya-namaskar-and-muslim-response.html

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. Mike is a Muslim speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com

One Year of Modi Sarkar: Hate Speech Galore

Thanks to Ram Punyani and Madhu Kishwar; 

Good summary of Modi Sarkar.  As an Indian committed to do my share of work in building a cohesive India, I am keeping up with thousands of Indians. It is embarrassing to see that nearly 31% of Indians exhibit intolerance towards a different point of view, a handful of them don’t even want to handle any criticism of Modi Sarkar. 

I look at the human body, the universe or a car and even an office or a family, and the best functioning ones are those who do well individually and collectively.  One major disconnect with any one of the organs will bring a collapse. 

Mr. Modi does not comprehend that his silence is what is encouraging the extremists among us to go wild creating chaos within the structure.  Ram Punyani has clearly listed them in the link below, so does Madhu Kishwar. 

Obama’s advice should be pinned on every wall of the parliament about social harmony as the basis for the strength of our nation.  Indeed, if we don’t see the other Indian as an Indian, an equal Indian, our prosperity is like a body with an unknown disease eating it away. 

I sincerely hope each one of us, asks ourselves – am I prejudiced towards a fellow Indian? Do I genuinely feel every Indian should have the same rights and opportunities? If I need to correct myself every day, I must until I find Mukti from that ugliness. 

When you see something is wrong, speak up, and for God’s sake don’t slap religion on it, a bad guy is a bad guy regardless of his religion. Every group has rapists, murderers, cheaters, abusers… 

Without criticism our country would have gone to dogs, it is the criticism that keeps the ruling parties in check, not completely but somewhat. I remember those newspapers editors, including Indian Express editor who went to jail protesting Indira Gandhi’s clamp out. 

Ram and Madhu, I have got to salute them, and salute you for standing up against what you perceive things “to be wrong”.  I will continue to present the good, bad and ugly of who we are. 

We have to keep at it, the larger population of the nation believes in live and let live, and that gives me hope. 

The two articles are at these links:

Ram Punyani - http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2015/05/one-year-of-modi-sarkar-hate-speech.html
Madhu Kishwar - http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2015/05/modi-is-like-new-bride-refashioning.html

Mike Ghouse for India
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/ 

Indian Democracy - will it survive?

As an Indian deeply committed to democracy in India, not the theocracy that will sink every one of us in the end, I hope and pray that the people of Delhi have voted for AAP.  We will wait for the results. Whatever the outcome of Delhi Elections, we have to live with it.

We need a strong opposition to keep the government on its toes, and at least somewhat accountable. Fascism takes root when the government has huge majority and huge mandate; it is the most dangerous thing for a nation to give full powers to a single party.

Radicals no matter where they raise their ugly heads simply destroy the nations – it’s happening in Iraq, and Syria, and gaining ground in Pakistan. None of us want India to become a theocracy like theirs, we want to be a nation of free people and not to be ruled by a bunch of idiots who who tell us what we can drink, eat, wear or believe.

Those radicals who think Hindutva *** Government is the way to go, will severely regret a few years down the road, and will say;

First they came for Muslims,
we didn’t care, we were not Muslims;

Then they came for Christians,
we rejoiced, we were not Christians;

Then they came for Sikhs,
we did not care, they were not Hindus;

And finally they turned it on us,

They wanted us to be obedient dogs,

and there was no one left to defend us.

The only reason I wish AAP wins is not because I like them, but I like our democracy to win and India to win.  The vote would be a reminder to Modi to bring humility in governance and let the ahankar go.

*** Hindutva is a political ideology similar to Islamists. It is neither Hindu nor Hinduism in character, just as Islamist are neither Islam nor Muslim. 

Enjoy the following political video featuring Modi, Kejriwal, Bedi and Shah.

Video link - https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153285734992580 

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net  

Is Hinduism a Violent Religion?

Is Hinduism a violent Religion?

The extremists among Hindus have hijacked the religion of peace and non-violence, just as the extremists among Buddhists, Jews and Muslims have done it with their religions. It is time for the moderate Hindus to speak up; if not, the new narrative would be Hinduism is a religion of violence, fascism and forcible conversions.

I urge you to read the whole article before drawing conclusions.

Hinduism is indeed blessed not to be slapped with 9/11-like terrorism label on it, despite the massacres of 3000 Sikhs in New Delhi by the violent Hindu mobs in just three days, for a total of 8,000 Sikhs within a week. Nearly a thousand Muslims were butchered by the fanatic Hindus in Gujarat within two weeks in 2002. Christian nuns were raped, their churches pillaged and some of the missionaries were burnt alive including Rev. Graham Staines. What is done to the Dalits, formerly known as untouchable, is unforgivable. The historic 500-year-ld Babri Mosque was destroyed in 1992 by extremists Hindu mobs.

No good Hindu should be offended by the above; they did no wrong. They would be wrong if they don't speak out against it.

Continued at: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Is-Hinduism-a-violent-reli-by-Mike-Ghouse-Bharatiya-Janata-Party_CONVERSION_Fascist_Hinduism-150115-386.html

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Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, cohesive work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up, and the process of making the film "Flames of Passion" has begun. 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, contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; regularly at Oped News and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.  

Pakistan, China and Japan to receive high priority under Narendra Modi's foreign policy

Modi has the passion to leave his legacy, he wants to put his stamp on India. There is something about him that makes him uncommon. This may be an euphoric call for him to follow the Raj dharma - good governance.  As I have said in an earlier note, he was waiting for this opportunity to re-set the course for RSS and BJP away from fascist leanings to pluralistic pathways. He has the mandate and he will do it right. 

The other day, after he received his letter from the President to form the government, in a speech at the Parliament with BJP members, he said “he sets the record ever time, he had not seen Vidhana Sabha of Gujarat until he was elected as CM, and now he steps in to the parliament for the first time ‘after’ elected as the PM. I went deep into that statement, reading into his passion to do unusual things. 

Until after the campaign rhetoric was over, I really did not think he would make a good Prime Minister, but in the last week or so, I have come to believe that no one in India needs to fear the other (part of my definition of cohesive societies ) and Modi has articulated that verbatim.

He will turn things around in foreign policy - he will find a place for India in the UN Security Council, the first step is to have the ability to have good relations with the neighbors to pave the way for that role, and he is going to do that. He will breakthrough and establish newer relationships with our neighbors and China.

Again, I am walking a thin rope with a faith, a new found nascent faith in Modi. I connect with his words, his words are my words. I am really short on time, but before Monday, I may write at least few notes and pass it on to my friends, as I may not get the time to get it published in a paper, but it will be on my blog.  I think 50% of my write up would be reflected in Modi's speech on Monday after his oath of office.
 
Mike Ghouse, is a Public Speaker, thinker and a writer committed to offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

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Pakistan, China and Japan to receive high priority under Narendra Modi's foreign policy 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/35489428.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Congratulations Mr. Narendra Modi!

SUMMARY OF ARTICLES WRITTEN IN 2014
http://mikeghouse.net/Articles/Narendra-Modi-India.asp
 

Congratulations Mr. Narendra Modi!
CAVEAT EMPTOR -PLEASE READ THE DISCLOSURE AT BOTTOM

A few Muslims and Christians may find it difficult to read the phrase, “Congratulations Mr. Modi”- they feel a sense of betrayal in congratulating the “Butcher of Gujarat” or Hindutva forces that “raped the Nuns”.  The Muslim-Christian apprehensions are indeed legitimate and need to be addressed,  and I hope Mr. Modi will take this up and bring a closure to this.  

On his part, Mr. Modi has made statements to include every Indian, "sab ka sath, sab ka vikas" - i.e., together, everyone's prosperity.  I hope and pray that he will stand by his words. Meanwhile, we have to move forward. 

The time to argue and challenge was lost on May 12, 2014. Whatever needed to be done should have been done at the ballot, and the Modi won the ballot.  An overwhelming majority of Indians chose to trust his words about inclusive development, and on his part,  he has stayed away from communalizing the elections process, which invariably appealed to the voters. We have to honor the verdict of the people of India, and it does not mean we cannot differ and continue to seek redressing the injustices to fellow Indians, but rather work as a team to solve the problems of the nation and uplift the common man, as opposed to spending our time in tearing each other apart with nothing to gain. 

The Dalits, Muslims and Christians have voted for Modi in similar percentages as the mainstream Hindu and other communities have, those are the hard numbers. Dalits have clearly abandoned their Rakhwala's (claimants and protectors) and voted for Modi. Likewise the good polls predicted Muslims could influence the outcomes for 222 MP's, and they did, not the congress or Samajawadi party, but Modi.  Congress and SP's should have won over 150 seats clearly if they had the Muslim and Dalit support, which they did not.  In fact, Modi has earned an inclusive mandate from all communities.  This needs to be dug deeper. We have to look at his statements in the last phase of the elections. In numerous interviews Mr. Modi has done what was needed to be done – articulate his vision for one India and inclusive growth.

The past has to come to an end, and for most Indians, it ended on May 16, and from the 17^th  a new era of action has begun. We have to go forward and focus on nation building . 

On my part,  I pledge to give my support in building a cohesive India, where no Indian is denied equal access, opportunity and justice to become a participant and a contributor to the overall growth of the nation, and more importantly no Indian has to live in fear of the other. I will be happy to part take in such efforts as needed, as my sacred duty to my motherland.   

A full op-ed is in the writing, and I hope to articulate the need to support Mr. Modi, while seeking redressing of justice for the victims of Gujarat Massacre. He also wants justice and will remain innocent until proven guilty of direct involvement.  

Congratulations Mr. Modi, the Indians have placed their trust in you, and now it is up to you to provide the leadership in building prosperity and bring cohesion to the children of India.

Mike Ghouse, is a Public Speaker, thinker and a writer committed to offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Thank you
Jai Hind



mike
Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916 text/talk

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Narendra Modi's speech on Good governance (5/19/14)

This is one of the best speeches Modi has delivered on good governance and a developmental economic model. Some may say that someone else may have written it, that is fine, but he has owned it by delivering it so eloquently and I hope he means every word of it. http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com/2014/05/narendra-modis-speech-on-good.html

US Policy on Modi needs to Change (5/16/14)

I do hope, President Obama puts his differences aside, and values the verdict of the people of India, it is not a simple majority, it is a huge majority. Let's give Modi a chance and trust our democracy and support him in his plans - as he has articulated it in his interview time and again. http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/05/us-policy-on-india-and-modi-needs-to.html

The bigger news of Modi is India wins (5/16/14)

The bigger news is that “India has won” as Modi has put it. An ordinary person has made it to the top, that is the sign of a true democracy, and it’s a positive motivation to the common Indian man – A chai wallah can make it so I one can make it too, if I have the dedication and commitment to do it. http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-bigger-news-of-modi-win.html

India's Modi on His Best Behavior: Can We Trust Him? (5/9/14)

We criticize individuals with the idea of wanting them to reset their course and get back on the righteous path of justice, humility, truth and respect for every life. Here is an effort to invoke Mr. Modi to follow "rajdharma," or good governance. Democracy and pluralism (i.e., respecting the otherness of others) runs in our veins, so let's have faith in our system. If Mr. Modi fails us, we can dump him through ballot or a no-confidence vote, as we did with Indira Gandhi and Vajpayee. To attain greatness and a place in the annals of history, Mr. Modi has a lot more to prove than we can demand. Continued at Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-modi-on-his-best-behavior-can-we-trust-him_b_5280892.html#es_share_ended

Time Magazine changed the Times man of the year (4/23/14)

TIME heeded to Mike's activism on the issue and has now removed the 6 million votes generated from Modi's autobots that were cast yesterday. In the final result now on display at the TIME 100 Poll page, Arvind Kajriwal has been declared the winner and Modi now has voted as the most disliked person in the list with the largest number of NO votes. http://time.com/73538/indian-politician-arvind-kejriwal-wins-time-100-readers-poll/

Modi, Kejriwal become Time's 'most influential' people thanks to dodgy poll and online fan club (4/23/14)

Dallas-based multi-faith peace activist Mike Ghouse says he did exactly that to confirm his suspicion, clicking several times from the same computer to record multiple votes. "This is a serious issue of integrity of the Time Magazine," he said in an email. "Can Time audit its computers to determine how many clicks have come from the same computer?" Obviously, the online battle has no bearing on reality. But the winner will take home the momentary bragging rights of being "elected" Time magazine's most influential person in the world, even though the more important verdict will come on May 16.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Modi-Kejriwal-become-Times-most-influential-people-thanks-to-dodgy-poll-and-online-fan-club/articleshow/34123215.cms

 

India's experiment with clean politics (3/13/2014)

Years ago, India ranked # 1 on the list of corrupt nations in the world, and today it is not. Despite the economic, social, cultural frictions we have, we are inherently a pluralistic democracy. http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2014/03/indias-experiment-with-clean-politics.html

Modi's Nakshatras are not in his favor (12/23/13)

Narendra Modi's Nakshatras (stars) are not in his favor, and the Grahan (eclipse) is hovering over him like a dark shadow casting its Rahu Kala (inauspicious times). His run for the Prime Ministership is ashubh (unlucky) for the 2014 elections. We recommend him to withdraw from the race, finish the current term as the Chief Minister of the state and lay a solid foundation for the next run. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Narendra-Modi-s-Nakshatras-by-Mike-Ghouse-Anti-christian_Bharatiya-Janata-Party_Business_Congress-131227-999.html -  It was also published as an interview at Saudi Gazette. http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140227196984

India's future, Narendra Modi and moving forward (11/04/13)

Unfortunately, the majoritarian attitudes of a few harm India's harmony and adversely affect her prosperity. They harass, threaten and use violence to teach the minorities, women and the weak how to behave, and put them in their place. It is like letting the air out of one of the tires, hurting all of us in the end.

The 1984 Sikh Genocide, the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, burning of Hindu Passengers in Godhra and Massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, the rapes of Nuns, Dalits and destruction of Churches are among the ugly cruelties we have witnessed since independence in 1947. It is a shameful blot on the civility of our Mother; India. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/indias-future-narendra-mo_b_4177079.html

Another 25 Pieces are written prior to it - they are all in Google search, http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com and  Sulekha.com

How it all began:

I have been a severe critic of Mr. Modi, and have written and published articles ever since the Gujarat genocide. It started out with organizing a public demonstration against the riots in the first week of March 2002 in front of the old court house in Downtown Dallas.  This was followed by hosting events to show the horrors of the Massacre with Shabnam Hashmi and others to a program to commemorate the  Gujarat Genocide in a public forum on January 26, 2014 as a part of the 7^th annual Holocaust and Genocides event.  

Some of my fellow Hindu Indians (friends at one time)  in Dallas and on forums across the world started hating me and my presence without understanding that someone or the other has to speak up, and some of the hardcore Hindutva fanatics still do, they have clearly not understood the essence of democracy is to give voice to differing opinions and to stand up for the discriminated ones.   

Then some of the Muslims started hating me intensely for my endorsement of Vajpayee’s call to Muslims to join the BJP. We have to be engaged in the society – the answer is as simple as that. None of us can live in pens and expect the world to know us, and us to know others. Quran clearly calls the best one among us are those who "know" each other, knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view - then comes the peace.

You and I have the freedom today because people have opposed and stood up against a singular way of thinking and shunning diversity.  Diversity of thought and expression is a necessity to build cohesive societies.

A lot of articles have been written since then, some preserved at Sulekha.com and at http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com
 

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C A V E A T   E M P T O R

I have been critical of Mr. Modi ever since Gujarat Massacre took place in 2002, and have been an activist and written extensively about the policies to govern. I have consistently sought justice for the victims of Gujarat and restoration of their livelihood and recommended on building desegregated societies for the ultimate good of India, but rarely have I sought the pound of flesh. In the last two weeks, however, I have written optimistic notes about Mr. Modi, based on his interviews and his speeches.  In the coming 100 days, IF I see his actions match his good words, and he does some praischit as a part of the raj dharma, I will admire that human quality in him, and would believe that he has the potential to be become one of the visionaries of India like Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru who was instrumental in building a stable democracy, that his daughter could not undo. Because of my write ups, I continue to lose a few my friends and that is ok, I don't need friends like that. We have to learn to live with our differences, and my commitment remains  building cohesive pluralistic societies and I like the new found inclusive language of Modi.
 

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. 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.
 

India's experiment with clean politics and preferred election outcome

Years ago, India ranked # 1 on the list of corrupt nations in the world, and today it is not. Despite the economic, social, cultural frictions we have, we are inherently a pluralistic democracy.

The General Elections are going to be held from April 7 through May 12, 2014, and we have several regional and national parties competing for the 543 Parliament seats. There are two major alliances of regional parties;  NDA - National Democratic Alliance with BJP as its anchor, and UPA- United Progressive Alliance with Congress as its anchor. There is a third front is emerging with regional parties and AAP.  It takes 272 Members to form a government.  Currently Congress holds 228 seats and BJP 137, all of this is likely to turn upside down.

Arvind Kejriwal leads a brand new Party called AAP -Aam Aadmi Party, and his party will be competing with two well organized established parties – Narendra Modi leads the BJP – Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian version Republicans) and Rahul Gandhi heads the INC- Indian National Congress (Democrat equivalent).

You may differ, but my personal choice is for no party to win the majority. A coalition government would be much better, as it compels them to be watching each other, decisions will be made by issue and not party line. It will also lend to greater debates on the issues. Unlike the US, if the coalition government does not perform, it can be brought down with a no confidence vote.

Arvind Kejriwal – no experience in governance, nor does he have an established system to carry the Party – the AAP; Aam Aadmi Party – common man’s party. But he is good for India. He wants to run a clean corruption free government. My worry is simply this –what if he is killed by the same party that killed Mahatma Gandhi, does he have an established system to carry the party forward without him? Is the manifesto written up?

Arvind is a good guy – at least corruption will be checked, but we need to make sure, he has systems in place to carry the business of governance.

The man leading the BJP plank is Narendra Modi, who needs lessons in history, biology, math and society, he is making blunders upon blunders. His popularity sounds like Ted Cruz's but not sure if it is managed or real. He is not an inclusive man and does not seem to believe in freedom. His state is one of the few where Christians, Dalits and Muslims are harassed, people do not have the freedom to choose their faith.

In the last two months he has worn over 25 different style hats in every town he visits, but refused to wear a hat given by Muslims – Under his watch nearly 1200 people were massacred while he did not stop the mayhem, 20,000 People are still living in wretched camps displaced by the massacres. To this day, he has not expressed remorse or regret for the deaths, just like George Bush has not done it yet. He promises prosperity and development, and is compared to Hitler, who promised and delivered prosperity to Germans at the cost of Jews and others, at the end nothing survived. If he does not care for social structure, all that development will not be sustainable.

Rahul Gandhi on the other hand represents the INC – it appears that he does not want to fight to win, nor does he have the experience. The only thing going for him is the party machinery which is well established. He lacks experience and does not have guts to run the largest government in the world.

Again, no one should be given a free hand, let there be a coalition government, let them learn to work with each other and deliver prosperity without hurting the social structure. A cohesive India is the way to go, a prosperous India without cohesiveness is doomed, the disparities may give birth to communism - to rip from the over night rich to give it to the depressed ones.

Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/IndiaPluralism
Yahoogroups: DallasIndians@yahoogroups.com 
URL: http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/03/indias-experiment-with-clean-politics.html
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. 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.