A Sentinel Event

An open plea to the relevant Government departments:

Dear Sir/Madam

The Sentinelese have shown us the way.  They have shown you, the Government, the way to deal with unwanted intrusions and unruly behaviour by foreign elements.  

Shame on our national defence and security systems, that one missionary could bribe local fishermen and gain access to the protected island not less than five times.  

That the Sentinelese have a protected area - however tiny - to call their own and to follow their own customs and regulations in their own space, is revealing.  

It also shows that on the so-called civilized and secular mainland, we are unable to safeguard our own interests from the virus of conversions and misdemeanours of illegal immigrants and foreign criminals.  

Over the last few months, there have been several incidences of crime by these very same visa-dodgers and over-stayers.  Many illegal immigrants have procured passport/Aadhar/voter cards through racketeers.  

In certain parts of Bengaluru, for example, foreign elements have formed enclaves of their own - 'foreign Sentinelese' areas, if you like, that are no-go areas for 'locals'/'natives', as they call us.   

Go through page three crime news in any newspaper these days.  Nepalese, Bangladeshi and/or African nationals figure prominently in such crimes as drug-dealing, prostitution, petty theft and drunken driving.  

Are those foreign criminals that are caught - if at all - by the police, deported to their country of origin, after they are punished by our legal system?

While law and order problems continue unabated, the other unseen breaking-India force, to quote Rajiv Malhotra, continues its surreptitious accumulation of masses of gullible public into its dragnet.  I am talking about evangelism and religious conversions.  

The Andaman incident is only the tip of the iceberg; one that made it to news reports because of what happened to the missionary.  Unseen, unchecked, unabated, other missionaries carry on in their merry ways all across the mainland - from coastal Andhra and Orissa, to northern Karnataka, to even Punjab.  Indeed, no state is exempt from their proselytizing activities.

What are you doing to check these threats to national security and Sanatana Dharma?  

Cutting off foreign funding to these so-called NGOs was a good move, but it does not seem to be enough anymore.  Declare all conversions illegal.  Put the onus of proving willingness to convert on these NGOs by officially registering and/or restricting their activities.  Send officials/volunteers to remote areas where missionaries are most active, to counter-educate the gullible public as to the futility of conversions.  Even better, improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations, and provide them with good healthcare and education so that they do not have to depend on proselytizing NGOs.  

Kick out visa over-stayers and illegal immigrants.  Come down hard on the passport/Aadhar/voter card procurement racketeers.  Make sure that foreign criminals are compulsorily deported with no chance of return, after they have served out their prison sentences.

For god's sake, do something.  And do it NOW, before it's too late.  

Else, be prepared to deal with race-riots and Sentinel-type direct action even on the mainland.   

Thank you

A concerned 'local'/'native' citizen

******

Update (December 2023): 

An open plea to the relevant proselytizing departments:

Dear missionaries

I have just finished seeing the documentary, The Mission on Disney+ Hotstar India, based on the above incident that involves your fellow missionary.  It delves into the background of the missionary in question, and attempts to explain what motivated him to do what he did.  I am afraid there is no justification for what he did.  The underlying reason remains the same as that for any kind of proselytizing activity as explained in my earlier articles.  

Apart from breaking Indian law in approaching a protected area, he amply demonstrated the amorality involved in evangelical activities by bribing the local fishermen to take him there.  Thereupon he put himself and the tribespeople at risk by contaminating their space by his words, presence and possible infections that they might have no resistance against.  

This just goes to show the extent to which you missionaries have been afflicted by the evangelical bug; you are unable to consider an alternative worldview of mutual respect for other cultures and religions, and a spirit of cooperative coexistence rather than the patronising, condescending, colonizing, bigoted notion of 'my religion is the only true path to emancipation and all others are false' that is drummed into you.   

Contrast this with what Mr Pandit, a Hindu explorer had done in the past (as shown in the documentary): he approached the Sentinelese with respect, and presented them with coconuts which the tribespeople accepted willingly.  Shortly after, when one of them showed him a knife, he took this as a signal to go away, and made a quiet exit.  

Hard pill to swallow, but I can't help highlighting the difference between the two religions: Hinduism does not seek to convert anyone, whereas Christianity does.  Hinduism accepts all religious beliefs as valid paths to the One Eternal Truth that is present in all living beings.  In fact, we Hindus believe that the only conversion that really matters is the one that occurs from within: from egoism to egalitarianism, and from a feeling of separateness to a feeling of oneness of all.  

It was appalling to see in the documentary one of your kind, a friend of the slain missionary, exhort his audience by using his friend's 'martyrdom' as a motivating factor for others to strive harder to spread the gospel.  On the other hand, the program redeemed itself somewhat by including the views of a failed missionary, one who has learnt the hard way the stupidity inherent in the notion of painting all people with one religious colour, and forcing uniformity in the place of respectful diversity.  

Please note that indigenous cultures and Hinduism have existed for thousands of years before book-based religions even entered the world.  In India we have hundreds of saints who have experienced this One Eternal Truth and expounded ways and means of attaining the same to others without seeking to convert them.   

So here's what it comes down to.  We are doing just fine with our culture, tradition, food, attire, lifestyle and religion.  Just leave us alone, if you can.  Practice your faith with enthusiasm, but just don't try to thrust it upon us.  

Thank you

A heathen Hindu

Image sources:

• https://www.businessinsider.com/american-murdered-by-an-isolated-sentinelese-tribe-in-the-indian-ocean-2018-11?IR=T
• Deccan Herald, page 11, 25th November 2018
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28097834/?ref_=tt_mv_close

Post-26/11 security: what's that?

We never learn.  Or seem to care.

On the anniversary of 26/11, one of the TV news channels brought to light the lapse security arrangements at the site of the attacks.  The report showed boats streaming in to the exact spot where the terrorists from our friendly neighbouring country landed.  A local fisherman confirmed that anybody was free to dock their boats here without any scrutiny.

The reporter then entered the crowded CST train station and left a bag there unattended.  Again, nobody noticed it or questioned her about it.

What have we achieved since 26/11?

Okay, we hanged Kasab.  But what did we learn or gain from detaining him for so long, apart from feeding him biryanis?  At the very least, couldn't we have put him in front of the world and got him to reveal the entire modus operandi of the attack: the way it was planned in his country and the people behind it?  

Maintaining security is like trimming nails.  The nails keep growing and you have to trim them regularly and even out the rough edges.  Likewise, security arrangements have to be put in place, monitored, and updated on a regular basis.  This is clearly not happening anywhere in our country.

Basically anybody can waltz in from any of the hostile countries surrounding ours, recce areas, and carry out attacks at will.  There have been umpteen examples of this in the past, and one fears, we will see more of them as things stand now.

Sure, community participation in security management is also a must, along with government initiatives.  But it is up to the state to initiate it in the first place.  Just closing the doors after the horse has bolted is not useful in any way.  Prevention, here too, is better than cure - or disaster management in this case.

Our heartfelt condolences to the victims of 26/11 and their families.

Ministers please wake up and secure the land!

Image source: https://im.rediff.com/news/2019/nov/26mumbai-attack1.jpg

Unwanted neighbours and visitors

The differences are stark. 

Democratic state, as opposed to a theocratic state.

One with unprecedented economic ascendancy, other with the exact opposite.

In our country syncretism is largely upheld and minority numbers are increasing if anything; on their side radicalism has entrenched itself firmly and people of other religion have been hounded, converted, persecuted or chased away.

Yet the said state and its militia-terrorist nexus expect red carpets to be laid out as they approach a disputed territory to incite divisions.  Like a recalcitrant brat, impervious to frequent clips around the ear, this epicentre of global terrorism always expects to be treated equally and even royally!  It expects the world to treat it “on par” with its neighbour.  Ever since we have managed to exorcise ourselves from our horrid conjoined twin, it has made numerous attempts to seek attention, cry foul, throw tantrums, and, if all else fails, to covertly decimate its older brother. 

Actually it is not surprising if you consider the above differences; envy was always going to make its presence felt, which then makes the brat do these things.  Truly, the predominant colour of that nation as been well chosen – green: the colour of envy.  The brat has to get what the older brother has just got, if not it is going to create a fuss.  If it is beyond the reach of its capability, such as sending space-crafts to moon and Mars, or economic prosperity driven by an able leader, it would make sure that it would at least spoil the party for the other – through ceasefire violations, as we have seen recently. 

But we do share an ambivalent relationship with this country.  On the one hand, tennis players unite to win doubles tournaments, and films stars and singers of that country are ‘palanquined’ into ours as though they are god’s best creations.  On the other hand, each time there is a border skirmish, a hilltop war, or a terrorist attack, we cry foul, pin blame on them immediately (often rightly), and deride these attacks in our cinema. 

When a tennis player married a cricketer from the other side, news reports showed men from the other side dancing ecstatically to drum beats, with some even suggesting that we should bow down to them as we, being the ladkiwale, should be subservient to the more superior ladkewale.  It was like suggesting that your ladki has chose our ladka over the millions of men in your country; there must be something superior about us!  Some even suggested that she should play for her sasural country henceforth!  Actually they were exposing their own entrenched patriarchal and anti-feminine cultural mindset by saying all this.  But what happened after all that chest-thumping?  The ladki, now the bahu of that country, continues to play for our country – in short skirts, and with male partners to boot – something which occasionally causes a religious leader to throw a fit. 

Coming back to our imported celebrities, how many of them have actually criticized their country for inciting violence through cross-border ceasefire, or through covert terrorist attacks? 

How many of them have openly condemned 26/11?

Did any of them say that the terrorists, their countryman, was wrong in carrying out those attacks?

How many acknowledge the wide gulf that exists between the socioeconomic situations of the two countries.  How many are grateful to a country, its society and its people, who have accepted them after overlooking all of these?  Like free-loaders, they enjoy the fruits that come their way, and maintain aloofness whenever their parent country unleashes another of its brazen plans. 

 In a misguided sense of secularism and largesse, we tend to overlook all of these and go all out to please them.  We end up giving needless importance to a rogue nation that just needs to be left alone.  Even those people who raise a voice against this are silenced, and even boycotted.  A singer, who has ‘ole ole’d a lot in the past, doesn't seem to be getting any work these days; probably because he openly questioned the need for importing celebrities from that country. 

Forget the celebrities.  What about the ordinary people from that country, who come here with their passports and then chuck them to get lost among the multitudes?  The number of people who have overstayed their welcome, or who have totally disappeared once on this side of the border, is staggering.  Is it not possible that at least some of these have contacts with, or indeed, are themselves terrorists?  It’s Sarfarosh all over again.

Forget even the people of that country for a while.  These days our cities are attracting students and workers from all across the globe.  Most of them, if not all, seem to revel in their audacity, which is unleashed as soon as they see the soft nature of our people and the lax implementation of our law.  Recently there was a rampage by a group of students from a North African country – the kind of thing that we would never dream of doing when in a foreign country.  Should we put it down to cultural differences, religious differences, or something else?  

This just goes to show that there needs to be some kind of a screening process before foreign elements are allowed into the country; thorough vigilance of their actions is necessary, which may involve something more than just registering at the local police station; if they resort to violence or crime of any sort, they need to be deported. 

As things stand now, we seem to be allowing far too many indiscriminately without any kind of background check.  Our leaders and law enforcers are slumbering as infiltrators disappear into the local population.  If this is not checked, we may soon end up with a very real problem – in addition to communal clashes, strikes, rapes and murders – that of the rogue foreign immigrant.  We need to learn from other countries’ examples.  The UK, which had allowed a very similar immigration to occur on a mass scale in the 1950s and ’60s, is now faced with a problem that it is unable to solve.  Most of the descendants of the immigrants of that time are now UK citizens, but their loyalties are split, and in some cases, are even anti-British.  It is worth noting that the London Tube bombers were the so-called ‘home grown’ terrorists – descendants of immigrants.  There are ghetto areas in many of UK’s cities, which are considered to ‘no-go’ areas that you would do well to avoid.

The point is this.  You are welcome to come to our country.  You are welcome to stay and make use of the facilities here – whether academic, economic, or other.  We believe in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the whole world is one family; one humanity.  But once you are here, do not show off, do not act high and mighty, do not degrade our culture/religion/nationality, do not expect special favours, do not overstay your welcome, and certainly do not indulge in covert anti-state activities.  In the meantime authorities all over – law enforcers, policy makers, ministers, educationists, employers, film producers, music directors – please be more vigilant and keep an eye open for misdemeanour from your foreign recruits.  

If not it would have to be A Wednesday all over again!  

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg/220px-Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg