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Re: HINDU HOLOCAUST DAY - August 14
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: HINDU HOLOCAUST DAY - August 14
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From: shrao@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Shrisha Rao)
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Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 05:39:14 -0600 (MDT)
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From shrao@nyx10.cs.du.edu Mon Aug 21 07: 27:46 1995
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Organization: Tatvavaada, Inc.
Greetings.
I can see the merits of both Mani's and Ajay's positions, and would not
lightly dismiss either of them, but I cannot say that I can accept either
one as my own.
To my mind, while the "Hindu Holocaust" posting was within alt.hindu's
charter, it had little merit otherwise, and was illustrative of a
passive attitude of self-pity that I cannot applaud. Yes, there were
atrocities, and no, I do not try to understate the depth of the wounds
they left on our collective psyche. However, must we dwell upon the
unfortunate past, and ignore the fact that we may be heading for an
even more unfortunate future? For the first time in perhaps several
hundred years, our people are in charge of their own destiny, and what
do we see? Strife, poverty, all manner of degradation in social and
personal norms, and a state of affairs that gives truth to the cynical
observation that we are not even smart enough to run our own affairs
well enough.
Consider that while we may observe moments of silence, make the most
moving speeches, and write very emotive articles, we are doing nothing
thereby to improve ourselves or the standard of the society that we
would like to preserve. It is very clear to me that the biggest threat
to Hindu dharma today is not from the deplorable machinations of
external forces, but is rather from the weakness and apathy
within. How many of those who make rousing speeches about the outrages
of the past, are model Hindus themselves? How many are even fit to
emulate in parts?
Our people have always been more fatalistic than necessary, and I have
even heard it argued that this is the result of a misunderstanding of
the Bhagavad Gita. Be as it may, the fact is that we have been, and
continue to be, more prone to meaningless emotional salves and
symbolism, with little concrete action. Why else do you think that
with the world's third-largest military and victories in the last two
wars, we still continue to see our land under foreign occupation? Why
is our government too jelly-livered to evoke the quite legal principle
of hot-pursuit to take out terrorist training camps across the border,
as Israel successfully did so many times?
The trait of weakness has afflicted us for long. How else would Nadir
Shah's army of 50000 have killed over 30000 people (note: at least
half of them Muslims) in Delhi? Sure, most of them were civilians,
there were women, children, and sick among them, but the reason the
barbarian could assault us with impunity was not because of these, and
not because our people were weak or foolish. It was simply because
they lacked the will to make the enemy pay a price. And that, if you
will, is the biggest weakness we have to deal with today. Until we
stop throwing in the towel at the slightest difficulty, at present,
our future looks bleak, no matter how much we wail about the past.
Regards,
Shrisha Rao
