Bharatavarshya/ India culture in the News, Stories of India and her Culture News Options

[Brainiac]

Most Indian Milk Adulterated

Whether you are in New Delhi or in rural Bihar, you may want to think twice before you have a glass of milk: it’s likely to be adulterated.

A recent study by India’s food safety regulator found that 68.4% of milk samples examined didn’t meet its standards. While most samples had been diluted with water, skimmed milk powder or sweeteners, some revealed more unpleasant surprises.

Detergent, hydrogen peroxide and even urea are just some of the substances you may have ingested last time you had milk.

[Brainiac]

Salman Rushdie pulls out of Jaipur literature festival

Author Salman Rushdie has withdrawn from India's biggest literary festival, saying that he feared assassination after influential groups protested against his participation.

The author had been due to speak at the Jaipur literature festival.

Mr Rushdie said he had been told by sources that assassins "may be on the way to Jaipur to kill me".

Mr Rushdie sparked anger in the Muslim world with his book The Satanic Verses, which many regard as blasphemous.

[kalki]

Salman Rushdie pulls out of Jaipur literature festival

Author Salman Rushdie has withdrawn from India's biggest literary festival, saying that he feared assassination after influential groups protested against his participation.

The author had been due to speak at the Jaipur literature festival.

Mr Rushdie said he had been told by sources that assassins "may be on the way to Jaipur to kill me".

Mr Rushdie sparked anger in the Muslim world with his book The Satanic Verses, which many regard as blasphemous.

I never read the Satanic Verses and I don't know much about what it says. But I figure instead of this guy hiding from assassins, he should just pull his book from print to save his life. It might even become more famous as a rare publication anyway.

Another alternative would be for the Indian government to make it illegal to print books that blaspheme religions that exist within the country. Or to make it illegal for fanatic groups to make such threats and force the Muslim community to lend their support.

In other words, the country of India or where ever the death threats are issued should make an active decision on how to end the controversy.

[Brainiac]

What that BBC News story doesn't say is that the "influential groups" are actually Muslims. For at least two weeks running up to the festival there have been loud appeals by some Muslim scholars to the Indian govt. to bar him from entering the country. I guess this is their way of making good on their threats now Rushdie himself has been so spooked as to pull out. The festival is supposed to be the 'Kumbha Mela' of writers and publishers.

There are now claims and counterclaims being made in a frenzy, alleging that the Rajasthan police "invented" a Muslim assassination plot to keep Rushdie away; the Congress party are pandering to the Muslim vote bank by acquiescing to their wishes/demands; extracts from The Satanic Verses have been read out in Rushdie's absence, etc etc etc...

[Brainiac]

And then The Hindu has published an interesting editorial, alleging that India is a secret theocracy while pretending to be secular:

Salman Rushdie & India's new theocracy

[kalki]

There are now claims and counterclaims being made in a frenzy, alleging that the Rajasthan police "invented" a Muslim assassination plot to keep Rushdie away; the Congress party are pandering to the Muslim vote bank by acquiescing to their wishes/demands

Sounds to me like the beginning of the "age old mythology that Muslims have ever had any political power in India due to their sheer numbers and possibly wealth" or any other factor that may be used by one human member of an ethnic group in order to win some favor by a particular government with some supposed global influence.

This is what I see. It is totally valid for any large group of people allied by religion, politics, trend or whatever to make sway in the world. Another group of people who don't belong to that group will surely be upset because they were not smart enough to do the same.

[Brainiac]

I never read the Satanic Verses and I don't know much about what it says. But I figure instead of this guy hiding from assassins, he should just pull his book from print to save his life. It might even become more famous as a rare publication anyway.

Another alternative would be for the Indian government to make it illegal to print books that blaspheme religions that exist within the country.

I never read the book either, but I understand that the "offensive" parts in it are supposed to be a parody of an actual event in Islamic history where Muhummad is supposed to have received Quranic verses from the Devil rather than from God. Rushdie just fictionalised this episode and others for his novel as dream sequences, and this is what these Muslim nutcases - this is the only word for them - are getting all wound up about.

Instead of criticising and attacking Rushdie - a self-confessed apostate who can quite correctly write about whatever he wants to write about - they would be better off facing up to that troubling episode in their own history and dealing with the implications of it. The book is already banned in India (pandering to the Muslim vote bank) and it's a criminal offence to read from it in public (like they did at the Jaipur Litfest in Rushdie's absence), but anyway I think it is going too far asking for "blasphemous" books to be made illegal or barred from publication. For a start, it would open up a ridiculous discussion to define the limits of what is blasphemous and what isn't, what to mention about dealing with the scores of people who display murderous rage as a manifestation of "hurt feelings". It's really simple; if they have such fragile sentiments, who asked them to read it? And I'll bet the majority of the protesters haven't read the book nor know even what they're supposed to be protesting against. Just that some writer has written something "wrong" and he must be killed, that's it.

Here is an interesting article from the Times of India that I posted onto another forum on 17th Jan: Say sorry for hurting Muslim sentiments, then travel to India, Rushdie told. It's a good article that shows what I was saying earlier, that all the unease about Rushdie's attendance was coming from the Muslim side.

[Brainiac]

an actual event in Islamic history where Muhummad is supposed to have received Quranic verses from the Devil rather than from God.

Ha ha ha, what am I talking about?

One voice in Muhummad's head competing hard with another voice, and 800 years later a writer must die for making a joke about it.

[kalki]

I think it is going too far asking for "blasphemous" books to be made illegal or barred from publication. For a start, it would open up a ridiculous discussion to define the limits of what is blasphemous and what isn't, what to mention about dealing with the scores of people who display murderous rage as a manifestation of "hurt feelings". It's really simple; if they have such fragile sentiments, who asked them to read it? And I'll bet the majority of the protesters haven't read the book nor know even what they're supposed to be protesting against. Just that some writer has written something "wrong" and he must be killed, that's it.

Yes well actually I agree with you. I was more or less laying out options not making suggestions. I mean the government of India should have to look closely at how to resolve it rather than letting death threats go onward.

Well I don't consider it so nutty in the sense that Muslim's believe it is a serious offense for anyone to desecrate the name of the prophet, but I suppose they should hold that law for themselves and not project it onto secular society.

This is the scary part of extremism where they consider it more important to start a holy war then to just live peacefully and practice their faith.

[Brainiac]

Huh. In another post, I mildly criticised the efforts of some Vaishnavas in worrying more about the dead river Yamuna than in trying to do something about the high widow population in Vrndavana. Seems I spoke a little too soon, as the next episode of Satyamev Jayate discussed endemic water shortages in many parts of the country, caused by many things such as lack of rainfall, reservoir mismanagement, contamination, lack of proper drainage, etc.

Yet again Vrindavan was used as an example, and it's pretty disgusting.

View at Youtube

An interview with Manoj Mishra, the convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan. If you're interested, the full episode is here.

[Prisni]

Yet again Vrindavan was used as an example, and it's pretty disgusting.

And some westerners go there to bathe in the water, and even drink the holy Delhi sewage.

[Brainiac]

I wonder if anyone's tested the water in Radha-kunda?

[Brainiac]

Priest Breaks Coconuts On Heads Of Karur Temple Devotees

Karur, TN, Aug 5 : The annual Adi festival of Sri Mahalakshmi Temple at Mettumahadanapuram in the district was celebrated with the chief priest breaking coconuts on heads of devotees as part of their fulfilment of vow.More than a thousand devotees had coconut broken on their head while some sustained bleeding injuries in the process. The event had attracted adverse comments from agencies such as the State Human Rights Commission in the past but the local administration did not intervene because of religious sensitivities involved.

The ritual is part of a two-day annual festival that is the highlight of the temple annals. A majority of the temple’s ‘kudipaadu’ belongs to the ‘kurumbas’ and certain sections of the ‘24 Manai Telugu Chettiars.’ The day began with the ‘Amman’ returning from the ceremonial procession to the temple and the chief priest, A. Periasamy, performed abishekam with the sanctified waters brought from River Cauvery. A traditional lamp was lit on top of the temple flag mast.

As if in a trance, Periasamy stood on a shoe of nails and then started breaking coconuts first on the head of seven elders each from the two main communities. He went along the main enclosure breaking coconuts on the head of nearly a thousand devotees who undertook the ritual as part of fulfilment of vows. A large number of women participated in the ritual without any fear of injury.

A medical unit with ambulance and paramedics waited outside to attend to emergency needs but even the devotees who sustained bleeding injuries refrained from going in for treatment and preferred to apply turmeric or ‘vibhuthi’ (sacred ash) on the open wound. Police arrangements were made at the venue and in the Mahadanapuram village for the festival.

A large number of devotees from various parts of the State and from Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh participated in the festival. Mahalakshmi temple is situated in Mahadanapuram,23 Kms. from Karur town. This temple is in a remote village and very few vehicles ply on the road. The motorable road is well canopied on either side by coconut trees. This temple is about 800 years old and this temple becomes a beehive of activity during the Aadi (Tamil calender month) festival.

View at Youtube

[kalki]

I wonder if anyone's tested the water in Radha-kunda?

I drank it once and didn't get sick.

[Brainiac]

McDonald’s Goes Vegetarian in India

While McDonald’s may be known for its Big Mac containing two “all-beef patties” in its nearly 33,000 worldwide restaurants, a pair of forthcoming restaurants near religious centers in India will go completely meatless — the first all-vegetarian restaurants in the chain’s 57-year history.

The first meatless McDonald’s is expected to debut in 2013 in northern India, according to the AFP, near the famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, an important Sikh center of worship. The second will open soon afterwards at the Vaishno Devi cave shrine, a popular Hindu attraction in India-controlled Kashmir.

McDonald’s has a long history of tailoring menu items to local tastes — witness its bid to offer baguettes in France — and South Asia is no different. Meat-based menu items will be replaced with vegetarian options, such as the fried, spicy potato patty in McDonald’s popular McAloo Tikki burger.

Beef and pork aren’t too popular on Indian menus anyway: Hindus hold cows sacred and choose not to eat beef, while Muslims view pigs as unclean. The iconic Big Mac isn’t even sold in India: in its place the chicken-filled Maharaja Mac. Indeed, about half the items currently on the menu at McDonald’s 271 Indian restaurants are already vegetarian. Going the whole hog — er, potato — presents a growth opportunity. “When you look at the potential of the country, it’s one of the top priority countries and we’re laying the groundwork for capturing the market,” restaurant spokesman Rajesh Kumar Maini told the AFP. ”We plan to nearly double the number of outlets to 500 plus within the next three years.”
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I wonder if the McDonald's near Vrindavan that serves meat will transfer to an all-vegetarian menu?

[Brainiac]

View at Youtube

The illustrious and popular 'pontiff' of the Sri Sampradaya, the english-speaking Chinna Jeeyar Swami, grossly misrepresents evolution in a very recent video.

[babu]

I wonder if anyone's tested the water in Radha-kunda?

I drank it once and didn't get sick.

"You don't consider yourself sick but that is not to say you are not sick" babu

[babu]

View at Youtube

The illustrious and popular 'pontiff' of the Sri Sampradaya, the english-speaking Chinna Jeeyar Swami, grossly misrepresents evolution in a very recent video.

Sounds like he's plagiarizing the great Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

[ras]

Here's a real sensational video for anyone who is up for real sensationalism tonight...

View at Youtube

I see the vid is three years old, however that may be 'water in a calf's hoofprint' compared to the ocean of gripes between these two countries.

[Dhyana]

O-my-freaking-God.
When does that girl even have time to breathe?
And for how long did she have to listen to these violent phrases so that they come so effortlessly out of her mouth?