The arrest of Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra police in connection with his alleged involvement in Malegaon blasts has cast a shadow over the armed forces—the last truly credible, genuinely secular institution in the country.
Although, Purohit is the only serving officer in an army of over a million to be formally arrested, the prospects of ideologically brainwashed soldiers taking matters into their hands out of “frustration” at governmental inaction (as the BJP likes to view this development) portends ill.
On the other hand, an equally strong view is that Purohit’s “guilt” has yet to be proved in a court of law and that the armed forces have become convenient scapegoats in the Congress-led UPA government’s scheme of things to appear “tough on terror” to keep the media mob at bay.
Could Purohit’s alleged involvement have been handled better so as to limit the damage? Has the Army’s image taken a severe knocking at the hands of politicians? Is nothing sacred any longer?
Also read: CHURUMURI POLL: Proof of Hindu terror?
It would be wise to not generalize the Army because of one officer.
http://thecapeofgoodhope.blogspot.com/2008/11/dont-defame-army.html
I think, more than Maharashtra ATS, its people like Yechuri and a section of media who did more damage. For days and days, venoms were poured on Indian army- and it stopped once Modi openly supported Indian Army in an election speech.
The full scope of damage to Indian army by competetive politics will still be haunting us after 20 years.
FYI: Yechuri attended a joint meeting with most radical Islamist Group JAMAT-E-ISLAMI few days back in Delhi. Jamat Ideologue Moududi is treated as most radical one from last century who influenced even founder of Islamic brotherhood in Egypt (Said Kutb), and this guru of Talibans and Bin Laden.
Same Yechuri demanded birth certificate of Lord RAma during Ayodhya movement. ALSO WROTE FAMOUSLY- MINORITY COMMUNALISM IS ACCEPTABLE. Its the same group who supported destruction of Rama Sethu, or when Congress Govt questioned “existance of Lord Rama” before Supreme Court (though Govt later withdrew it).
Alas, Indian Media is NOT seeing thro; this larger game being played by joint efforts of communists and Islamist radicals.
GONE ARE DAYS OF SYNCREATIC INDIAN ISLAM- (say) THAT OF NATIONALIST POET NAZRUL ISLAM. WELCOME JAMAT-E-ISLAMI AS NEW INCARNATION OF INDIAN ISLAM BEING LEGTIMIZED BY INDIAN COMMUNISTS!
Its effects? It will be disastrous for Indian Muslims, Hindus, society, country.
The Left-Secular thugee has never believed in the good reputation of the Indian Army. Read what these scum say about our troops in Kashmir and the NE, where it’s presence matters the most.
“the last truly credible, genuinely secular institution in the country.” Bull!
One cannot understand statements like : the last truly credible, genuinely secular institution in the country.
We all know how during operation Blue star and its aftermath many sikhs soldiers deserted the army. If army men can rape then they can do anything else. All this secular mambo jumbo is farce.
Today, Indian Army is being ridiculed by press, even ATS, or political leaders- all civiliains. Leaks are being made from within to further fuel these ridicule. No where in the world, army issues are dealt with by civilians.
Today, our Prime Minister is openly saying: “First rights on resources belong to Muslims”. Army works hard, catches terrorists- and then they are released for votebank. Can we expect those who are ruling India can be openly communal, while Army, a section of society, will remain ‘secular’?
After propaganda against Modi for 6 long years which now failed due to Nanavati Reports, now “Indian Army and Hindutva infiltration” has become latest fab of a secular Taliban Politicians and their appendage media.
As we can all remember, few years back, Yechuri raised a storm by demanding ban on all religious references from Indian Army.
There was a huge protest, as respected Ex Army analysists explained why (say) “Jai Gorkhali”, or “Yeah Guru Ki Fateh” are war cry of Gorkha Battalion, or Sikh Battalion. Few days back, I saw a photo of a Sikh regiment taking oath to serve the country on a Guru Grahth Sahib in Ramgarh in the pages of respected daily the Tribune.
Indian Army faced even bigger problem during Punjab. There were lots of desertions, terrorism- but ultimately, Indian Army prevailed. Country prevailed. However, the billion dollar question is, are radical Jehadi elements are Sikh radicals same?
Indications from history says otherwise.
This whole incident has undeniably sullied Indian Army’s image and we will pay a heavy price in Kashmir, Assam and elsewhere as well as countering Jehadi terrorism.
We all will pay for activism by Taliban secularists and a their appendage press.
Indian Armed Forces : Engineering Branches are known for corruption. I am not surprised at all at the arrest of Col. It is not politicians who are always corrupt. It is the officers both civil and defense who are equally corrupt.
The corruption happens this way: you need bolts for machines. it costs just $2 . But the military will say they need $200 per bolt. And the officers involved make money. No wonder military people have lavish lifestyles after retirement. This happens at the higer echelons of the services. It is rare to see ordinary soldiers involved in corruption.
Army fights valiantly at the borders to keep the enemies at bay. The politicians, for their vote bank, allow people to infilterate. These people have no regard to the country they have come to earn their livlihood. They dont respect the people who are living here, they dont respect its culture, they are least bothered about what happens to this country. All that they are bothered is UMMA, the universal brotherhood. They create chaos, confusion and perpetrate criminal and terrorist acts.
The politicians as usual mouth platitudes and try to hush up things.
It is high time that these kinds of actions were paid back in the same manner. Glad someone did it.
Yes.. THe only secular ..perfectly honest …very unbiased..institution in the world is the English Language media…and the psedu-secular jholawalas.. All the rest are corrupt thugs. he he..
Hindu Terrorists my foot.. commies are jumping for joy coining newer tersm by the day..
Rajeev Srinivasan’s commie lexicon below– its hilarious — please add to it..
people’s republic == dictatorship by communist appartchiks
people’s liberation == a looting and pillaging communist army wipes
out your country
comrade == (if female) woman you can forcibly have sex with
nationalism == patriotic fervor for china
social justice == communists oppressing poor peasants and raping their daughters
equality == communists shoot you, take your money and share it equally
among themselves
hindu terrorist == someone who cares for india
oppressed minority person == mohammedan with RDX or christist with AK-47
terror has no religion == mohammedan and christist terrorists killing hindus
pogrom == hindus killing mohammedan and christist terrorists
Hilda Raja’s Write up in response to the venom of Brinda Carrot :
Terror has no religion’ (TOI Nov 11th) by Brinda Karat who is looking
through her spectacles which is tinted red. Let me use her logic to
disprove her. The aggressive defense by the CPM to a select group of
terror outfits is well known. Direct and/or indirect abetment of
terrorism has been obvious in the States ruled by the CPM. The maximum
terror groups are in the North East States. Figures compiled by S.
Asia Terrorism portal lists a staggering 174 terror, insurgent and
extremist groups operating in India most of them in the North
East.with Manipur-40 Assam 36, Tirupura-30 etc. People’s war group and
the Communist Party of India-Maoist are also terror groups. The Nano
car project which triggered protests in West Bengal saw the CPM cadres
run amuck killing and raping the poor farmers and farm women. Brinda
Karat did not raise her voice in protest against the shedding of
innocent blood and the violation of women. This is not something
new-it has
always been the case when justice is demanded by politicians they are
selective and their vision of justice is blurred. To give an example-
In the case of the demolition of one and a half domes in Babri Masjid
the CPM and its affiliated Women’s Democratic Wing rose as one man
throughout the country to condemn and demanded the banning of
Hindutva outfits. It must be noted that not a single Muslim life was
lost in that demolition. Year after year the Babri Majid is brought to
centre stage for protests and condemnation by politicians to serve
their narrow vested interest. The vengeance of this demolition was the
bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993 which killed more than 300 mostly Hindus
and hundreds injured. Did the victims get justice? And as the author
stated from 2004-2008 there has been at least 25 major bomb blasts in
which 717 people were killed and hundreds injured. It is not only the
soft policy of the UPA but also the government is guilty of
abdication of its duty. The CPM which had lend its support to the UPA
government should also share this guilt. The repeal of POTA gave an
impetus to the sudden spawning of terror groups. The tardy
investigation and the soft policy made the terror groups bold. Afzal
Guru’s case is a typical example on the government’s weakness to bring
to justice terrorists. It is wrong to state that a small section of
Indian Muslim youth is drawn into the new work of terror groups
because the State had failed to ensure justice to the victims of
communal attacks and to punish the guilty of various crimes against
the minorities. The very premise of this argument is flawed because
most of the victims of the communal attacks are Hindus-.if Brinda
Karat has the Gujarat riots in mind then by an extension of her
argument it is the failure of the government and all political parties
including the CPM to even condemn the Godra carnage that triggered the
Gujarat riots. If Sar
Sevaks can be roasted in locked carriages and their burning flesh
does not stir the conscience of the politicians is it small wonder
that there would be a backlash? Year after year the Gujarat riots come
in handy to bash Modi, the BJP and to whip up communalism. Justice is
blind-it does not look at the religion of the perpetrators nor the
victims. The author’ mindset is revealed when she calls for justice to
the victims of the minorities. Can there be justice for the minorities
and no justice for the majority? It must be conceded that most of the
terror outfits are Islamic. When Sadhvi has been grilled and put to
narco analysis and brain mapping-when chemicals are injected into her
body not once but many times Brinda and her party which raises issues
against the discrimination of women were silent. Should not the
process of interrogation and probing be the same? Or does it mean that
the appeasement policy of the Muslims includes this area too? When
the cops pick up Muslims for questioning all hell is raised that a
minority community is being harassed and hounded. Can the cops just
walk in and pick up the suspects without questioning others? And where
are the suspects holed but within the Muslim communities? Cabinet
ministers rushed to issue certificates of innocence to SIMI-a banned
outfit and to those terror suspects picked up in the Batla House raid.
The investigators are hindered and hampered at every stage till
finally the whole investigation is put in cold storage. What is the
justice Brinda Karat is talking of? To put it in a nut shell the
Muslims can get away with any number of bomb blasts and crimes-but a
single bomb blast in which the Hindus are suspects all hell is let
loose. With the Malegoan case the color of terror became saffron and
the outcry to ban all the Hindutva outfits became shrill. But when all
the suspects were Muslims in nearly the 20 and odd major serial blasts
then we
are told that terror has no religion. From where does Jihadis emerge?
What ideology inspires them? Who supports them? We have yet to know
what the PM has done towards the extradition of Dawood Ibrahmin. The
Prime Minister disclosed that he spent a sleepless night when Haneef
was arrested in Australia. One wonders if he would lose his sleep had
it been a Hariram. This is the whole problem with our
politicians-their perception and the way they make the system work.
Minority votes must be garnered at all cost -does not matter if it is
through the ‘confluence of the blood of innocents’.
Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
why are ppl into army bashing? corruption in the engg branch of the armed forces? Like the rest of all our government machinery is well oiled, smooth functioning, clean uncorruptable and immaculate! what are we jumping around about? of course there will be corruption, do u know wat the whole row being raised by the 3 army chiefs is all about?
The army’s pay which was supposed to be revised in the pay commission was not thanks to the IAS lobby! The army officers are paid lousy meagre amounts, a serving officer in the armed forces with 33 yrs of service to the credit gets paid the same as an officer with 17 yrs of work experience in other govt services! Wow, that seems fair! It seems like we all decided that by joining the army , the army officers decided that they do not want a pay which will allow them to afford a decent lifestyle beyond the army/education for their children outside of the army schools!
First do injustice,to our army, to our police(who are underpaid and are understaffed)! and then sit and chide about their corruption! INDEED! So i presume everyone commenting here is willing to risk their lives in serving the country for a pay of around Rs. 18000 a month when the other services are being paid above 20000. Forget other services, in armed forces, pilots are paid 24000. And army officers are paid 18000??(note: these are entry scale pays)
And as for what the army men can do/cannot do, they are also human and are subject to the same temptations that we all are! When did they say they were inhuman or better than normal humans to be above crime and corruption? They are just in a better physical condition than most of us due to regular exercise et. al. But otherwise speaking they are as human as U or me!
Do not just blame or question the armed forces and their integrity without hearing their end of the story! Ever seen MEDIA programmes and publicity campaigns showing what the ARMY GUYS and GALS who are serving today are facing? Ever seen news reports that do an interview on TV of normal Jawans? Ever met the jawans who sit and guard the bridges in the Ladakh region(sometimes they walk upto 10 kms to the base just to pick up what they need at the outpost)? Ever wondered what happens to our soldiers who come back from Siachen after 3-4 months and have heart problems in daily life due to heart enlargement due to operating so long in such adverse conditions? Ever wondered what the families with only sons serving as jawans in the army do when their sons get killed in terrorist attacks? Oh sure, a few thousand rupees of compensation is more than enough of a substitute for a healthy working earning caring human being, right?
people usually say, ” the grass is always greener on the other side!” In my country, India, people don’t even want to know what kind of grass is growing on the other side!
DISGUSTING!
@jeevaratna
And when the hell did rape crimes become a measure of secularism? Do u even know the meaning of the word “secular”? Secular pertains to religion and religious following, RAPE pertains to a crime usually committed against juveniles and women! So Please please please pray tell HOW RAPE IS A MEASURE OF SECULARISM???
Churumuri guys, why can’t you understand ?, As long as the culprits don’t carry a Muslim or Christian name, we are not going to give a damn about that. .. they are patriots, they where trying to clear the mess we are facing, please cheer for them.
like ‘ Tathagata Mukherji ‘ we will be giving you lectures on the ‘real’ issues our country face. Defenitely this doesn’t come under that.
Jai Sadhvi Pragya Singh
prajwal,
One who is debased to rape can do anything else. To say our armed forces are secular is trying to elevate them to a status, which they do not deserve. We all know our armed forces are one of the most corrupt. I have never said rape is a measure of secularism , it is a measure of human debasement.
I agree with somebody Army Officers should get more than what they are getting today. otherwise they will become corrupt. It is the officers who get more and have better facilities than the soldiers.
All the three armed forces get enough consessions and sufficient reservations in the form of servicemen quota or ex-servicemen quota.
When they dont get enough, they can go BOFORS way. Can keep lots of money in swiss bank accounts. We ordinary civilian poor souls will not question bcoz they are serving our nation.
Kkr – Absolutely correct. Hindus will now become unabashedly brazen and willful. They will not bother what slimy liberal thugs think or feel about them. I think that should have become clear quite some time back.
Jeevaratna – “If army men can rape then they can do anything else.” – Wtf is this? Are you saying our Army rapes as a matter of course? Is it policy with them? Like it is policy with the followers of the “religion of peace” to claim contexts every time their brother-murderer blows up Hindus??
Who the f!#^ is debased? The fellow who is on the firing line for ungrateful scoundrels?
“genuinely secular institution”
Here is an interesting article
Soldiers maintain a deep personal faith while seeking interreligious harmony by Lt. Col, Retd, N. C. Guha, Delhi
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2005/7-9/28-31_army.shtml
The article originally appeared in Vedanta Kesari, a monthly of Ramakrishna Mission.
@Life Jewel
“One who is debased to rape can do anything else”
EttaNa Maamara .. EttaNa kogile ?
Haagidre ella rapistsu … non-secular anda haage aytu. Enu logic re nimdu.
“We all know our armed forces are one of the most corrupt.”
hege gottu nimge ? Or nammelrige ? Enu proof aite nimtava ?
palahalli
whether it is French mercenaries in coorg, British in srirangapatna, Pak afridis/army in Azad Kashmir or Indian army in kashmir or elsewhere or for that matter any other army of any other country have always indulged in rape and arson after a conquest. But it does not mean all soldiers are rapists. At the same time, majority of soldiers join the rank in search of jobs. To be in the firing line is part of the job and no one can take away the immense sacrifice one makes in such a situation. But the context of my statement here was to the statement that they are secular etc. There are bad eggs in all basket and if there rapist among them there are misguided lots too. But the obverse side of your statement is just because one is ready to face the firing line does it give one a license to rape and arson in peace time or after a conquest against innocent citizen, even if they belong to your enemies nation ?
Again what is the meaning secular ? There is no such definition in our constitution . Our constitution gives religious freedom to one and all. It just means each to his or her religion. A soldier is not an atheist. To day in the era of visual media and internet , it is difficult to keep the army away from the outside world. It is quite natural in the avalanche of terrorist activities in the world, some counter reactions will axiomatically occur. One wonders why it took so long . Making it a media circus will only heighten the situation. Please do not use x rated words, you are entitled to your opinion but it should be within civil norms.
Shrikant Purohit is one person, how can his actions – which was not official army work – be used to judge anything else?
Since most people understand we need a strong army, stray incidents like this will not have any effect.
If anyone is speculating and trying to link the workings of the army with the alleged actions of an individual – they need to be stopped. Especially if it is politicians on any side who are using it with an eye on votes.
Agreed with sandesh. As someone said:
‘War means fightin’, and fightin’ means killin’
During a war armies kill people. Like it or not, that is how it is. And once you kill, rape is nothing special either.
Linking rape commited by some soliders to corruption in the army – dont get it.
About corruption in the army, how is it any different from corruption in any other sector in India? After all the people who make up the army are Indians and live in our society. Why would you expect them to be so different from you or I?
At least the army is running things with an efficiency not seen in any part of the government. Even in areas like sports, disaster relief etc. their efficiency shines through.
Vikas Akalwadi – thx for the nice article. I referred to the sequence of events few years back when yechuri started halla-bol on religion and Indian Army. This article was published in the Vendanta Keshari approx at the same time.
These Yechuri Et al at one hand supports questioning Rama’s existance. On the other hand, they join hand with most radical Islamist Groups like Jamat-E-Islami for Muslim Vote.
This is the root cause for the failure of psuedo secularism in India, Abuse Hindus, and pamper jehadis.
In the distant past, Kshatriyas were the defenders of the society. Kshatriyas were the rulers of a country and warriors. Today’s democratic government is castrated. It cannot defend the country against either the external enemy, or the internal home-bred enemy. The government withholds army from defending the country. The ideology that army’s role is limited to defending the borders is an old theory which has to be now discarded. Gone are the days, when the enemies came only from outside, and we citizens could trust the neighbours as our own. With our neighbours trying to mass murder and maim us, the army has a role to play within the country, and decimate the enemy within. But, vote bank politics, pseudo secularism, and marxist lobby would not allow the government to do this. Therefore, it is no wonder that an army officer has taken it upon himself to do the duties of the Kshatriyas of the yore. As Lokmanya Tilak said “Shatham prati Shatyam”, No compunctions towards another who does not have any. The development of Hindus emulating Islamic fanatics is the result of suppression of majority HIndus for nearly sixty years in Independent India. India won independence, but not the Hindus.
@jeevaratna
nobody is saying that standing in the line of fire gives them the right to rape and pillage! but we are sayin that it is unjust that we question the army rape cases which are nothing but instances of a certain type of behaviour by inviduals who happen to be employed in the armed forces.
If one wants to analyse rape cases, then analyse them on the whole! Every single case has to be considered! In our country as it is rape cases in the casual context of a girl/woman being sexually abused go unreported! on the other hand, do u know that legally speakin if a husband coopulates or fornicates with his spouse against her will, that also counts as rape. or for that matter if a guy sleeps with his spouse when they are drunk on alcohol, that also counts as rape? I assure u that there are quite a few of these cases in our country which ppl don’t even recognize as rape! They push it off saying its an internal matter of the couple! My point is it is UNFAIR that u consider army rape cases as a question of morality and corruption and secular standing when we are living in a SOCIETY filled with rapists and corrupt “citizens”.
And the word secular does not mean atheist! it is used in the constitution in the sense that the constitution in the whole, which provides the framework for life in the country is not oriented to any 1 particular religion/clergy/belief! It does not say anything about atheism! Also, if u want to talk about atheism, atheism is non believing in God and that is also encompassed in the “Hindu” religion! so technically speaking, atheism is also part of a religion, just one that does not believe in the existence of GOD! So i still fail to understand the link u made in ur first comment between secularism and a criminal activity ! I see no reason to believe how some one who commits a crime like rape cannot be a religious/god fearing human being. The two are not even closely related and hence cannot be compared!
“In the distant past, Kshatriyas were the defenders of the society. Kshatriyas were the rulers of a country and warriors.”
Oh yeah? Which country was that?
I fail to understand what is the dispute in the first place !! All i said was Armed forces are no holy cows and there a microcosm of the civil society we all live in. Rape was just an case to highlight that aspect. There can be rapists, spies, Fundamentalist etc etc among them.
As for as the constitution,, there is no official definition at all. What is in the preamble is just a phrase like the word socialist etc. Government departments like Muzrai and there right to take over private temples or hand over them to holy maths is certainly not a facet of secularism.
Any way we are digressing from the original question: whether Malegaon blasts has cast a shadow over the armed forces—the last truly credible, genuinely secular institution in the country.
Purohit is a real Kshatriya.
We have to cleanse Hinduism once again of those who question everything.
Pseudo-seculars will be shudras once again.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081114/edit.htm#4
Malegaon and military
Handle the situation with utmost care
by Inder Malhotra
A word of wisdom from a senior journalist who correctly understood the danger to Indian Army from these types of propaganda. And here is his suggestion:
The need to inculcate the values of equality and secularism — irrespective of religion, region, caste or creed — among the armed forces, paramilitary organisations, the police, and the investigative agencies has become acute. Unfortunate-ly, not even the most vocal champions of secular values have paid this any heed. The more agonising question is: would they do so now?
jayarasibhatta:
Looks like you’ll have to be cleansed, huh? Cheddi wielding maniac! The reason I hate buggers like you is that you are no different from the Taliban. The Taliban wants to take Afghanistan back to the middle ages, you want to take India back to even earlier times.
Do not compare the taliban to the RSS you pseudo-secular!
You do not understand what its principles and agenda is and yet your speak so much.
After the cleansing we will usher in Ram Rajya, which will be a golden period of the future, not the past.
I am of the opinion that the phrase “Hindu Terror” is a misnomer and should not be used by the media when reporting the Malegaon and related investigations. The correct phrase IMO that should be used is “Hindutva Terror”. Hinduism has nothing to do with the militant Hinduism a.k.a. Hindutva propagated by loonies like Savarkar, Hedgewar, Moonje, Golwalker, etc..
Naveen – No point in declaring yourself to be certifiable.
Unfortunetly the educated people also getting into such discussion which has no meaning, all because of some dirty politician who really currupted the mind of people and divided the people on relgious and region basis. If some one is culprit, he/she should be punished irrespective of religion and service as per law. There is no religion for terrorism, there is absolutely no mohammedan or christist terrorists or Hindu terrorist or sikh terror. We are developing country and think progressive / constructive rather than Talibanism.
When will India have its first Muslim/Christian Prime Minister, Muslim Air Marshal, and Christian/Muslim Admiral?
So much for our secularity.