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Ranjit Singh
New York,
October 11,07.
In the beginning of this month, Sonia Gandhi came to New York on the invitation of the United Nations. This
global organization, the bulwark of the global peace, had recognized, though late, that the non-violence is the
soul of peace and that Mahatma Gandhi is the latest apostle in the line of those who rise above communal, racial
and national narrow-mindedness and embrace humanity. October 2nd is the birthday of this Mahatma (great soul)
and the United Nations declares this day as the global Non-Violence Day. An honor to India! And yet another
honor; the leader of the party that was nurtured and brought to maturity by none other than Mahatma Gandhi
himself, was invited to launch the day. Sonia Gandhi is the leader chosen for it.
A few NRI organizations in USA could not digest this honor to the leader of Mahatma Gandhi’s Party, an indirect
honor to India. They used (rather misused) their financial clout and spent $ 125,000.00 (the average page price
for the New York Times’ ad) to tell the Americans 8 points about Sonia Gandhi.
Apparently, one page advertisement in the New York Times, Saturday, October, October 6, 07 (Page A-11) is an
attack on Sonia Gandhi’s personality. But an honest observer and analyst will see behind the wording,
phraseology and style an intention and an attempt to demolish a government and a movement that is holding on
to the culture and spirit of secularism and co-existence in India.
The only safe conclusion that we shall draw is that these NRI critics of Sonia Gandhi are acting as the surrogates
of the communal politicians in India. They are attacking Sonia Gandhi as they know well at heart that it is she who
halted the onslaughts of the communal forces on the soil of Mother India. Whatever the future historians write
about her, they all will agree with me that it is Sonia Gandhi who saved the citadel of India’s pluralism. No wonder
that the LEFT in India, despite serious differences with the UPA government, don’t want to abandon the boat, of
which Sonia Gandhi is the captain.
However, just accusing Sonia Gandhi’s critics and adversaries and just praising her does not and will not carry
weight with my readers, unless I refute their charges one by one and point by point.
But before I do that, I will not hesitate to fault them on one point. Could they not think of some better and noble
cause to advertise for or spend money on, instead of spending $ 125,000.00 to spread misinformation about a
visiting national leader, on a mission to take India to yet other heights of popularity. I am not aware but I have a
gut feeling that no other nationality in America would resort to such tactics to defame their leader among other
communities. We do have different stands, different opinions and different ideologies, but shall we resort to
character assassination to make our stands and differences known. Sonia Gandhi’s adversaries shall sit and
answer honestly: “Was it not unethical on their part?” Well, they have their own hidden agenda and that ism as I
have explained above, to demolish pluralism and eliminate its vanguards. So, let us come to the point and discuss
eight charges, they levied to defame Sonia Gandhi and spent $ 125,000.00 to vainly reach their goal.
YOUR FIRST CHARGE: You say Sonia Maino Gandhi is not related to Mahatma Gandhi and is just
misappropriating it for political mileage and international legitimacy.
MY REBUTTAL: You use “MAINO”, intentionally to remind us of her parentage and origin. It is a mischievous
way of harping on a point when we all know that she has never obscured her nationality or parentage and that the
Supreme Court has validated her Indian nationality. And why shall she misappropriate? Did she ever say that she
is related to Mahatma Gandhi? And is she the first one in her family to use the word “Gandhi” with her name? Are
you really ignorant of the fact that late Shrimati Indira Gandhi was already using it before Sonia came to India as a
daughter-in-law of the former Prime Minister? Are you really ignorant of the reality that many of our own sisters or
daughters stop carrying the suffix like “Patel, Mehta, Bajwa” when they marry an American boy? The example is
Sunita William, the renowned astronaut of today.
Why shall Sonia Gandhi search for political mileage? She has already won political ascendency by saving her
party from going into oblivion and by saving India from falling to communal disruptions.. And this is the thorn that
pricks her adversaries.
YOUR SECOND CHARGE: You say Sonia Gandhi is vindictive and undemocratic and that her party uses
various mechanisms including raids to subjugate opposition.
MY REBUTTAL: Well, accusation is no argument. Come clean with facts. What the NRIs in America hear
through news channels are about the raids on a certain Malhotra, a petty canteen contractor, who has grabbed
landed property worth ten crore rupees, has thirty luxury cars with VIP plate numbers parked outside his house.
We are hearing about raids on an army General with disproportionate wealth at his disposal. Do you want to stop
these raids? Do you sympathize with these criminals who loot our national wealth? Can you give just one example
when an opposition politician or activist was tax-raided and silenced? Then what do you mean when you talk of
raids to subjugate opposition? I have not heard of a single such example? Where did you get this news from?
YOUR THIRD CHARGE: You say that Sonia Gandhi’s Party has pro-terrorist policies and that is why India
has the highest number of terrorist victims after Iraq. Her Party is requesting clemency for Afzal Guru, the master
mind behind attack on Parliament, for vote bank.
MY REBUTTAL: Perhaps, your charge emanates from the fact that the UPA regime repealed POTA, which was
imposed on India by the NDA regime. It is an open secret that POTA resulted in fake encounters and the profiling
of minorities, particularly of the Muslims. It spread a nation-wide fear of police, with unfortunately no reprieve from
terrorism. Attack on our Parliament was during the non-Congress regime.
What label or tag you will fix on this event when a Union Minister of NDA government escorted some terrorists to
be released in Kabul in exchange for 116 Indian passengers locked in a hijacked Indian Airline plan? I will be the
last man to criticize this move. In my opinion, it was the only best option left with the government to get back alive
our passengers on board and to spare their relatives back home of an agony, beyond words.. Nor will I blame the
NDA regime as “soft to terrorists”, simply becauseit was then that the terrorists made an attempt to raze our
Parliament to ground.
I only want to shake the critics of Sonia Gandhi to understand and realize that the terrorists attack India because
India is a pluralistic state and the terrorists don’t tolerate co-existence of the Hindus and Muslims. They disrupt
pluralism in order to create Taliban type regimes. On the terrorist front, India can’t boast of successes and one
reason, which is hard to digest, is the domestic communal hatred, we ourselves encourage.
The terrorists are our unidentified and invisible enemies. But you are our own people. At least, you shall not
disrupt pluralism by instigating Sikhs and Hindus as is clear from your following two charges. In this way, your
goals are true replica of the goals of terrorists-to disrupt pluralism. Only strategies differ. If you love India, you
better abandon this disruption strategy and work for pluralism..
You want to hear about Afzal Guru.. Trust me, I am ignorant of the sequence of events. I read that Afzal Guru
says that he was framed. Is framing not a usual practice of India’s police system? It will continue till the system is
completely overhauled. Afzal Guru may be speaking truth or telling lies. I don’t know. But one thing I do know that
as an Indian citizen, he has the constitutional right to reach any level in search of justice, request for clemency no
exception. It is a human right and those who talk of human rights shall respect this right for every one, irrespective
of caste, creed, gender. Nathu Ram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi. Was he denied the right to fight a legal battle?
YOUR CHARGES # 4,5 & 6. In these charges relating to communal instigation, you instigate Sikhs by
reminding them that an instigator of 1984 anti-Sikh riots was given a ministerial berth in the Union Cabinet. You
instigate Hindus on the Ram Setu issue and you scare them that their religion is in danger because of force
conversions going on in India with the tacit support of Sonia Gandhi.
MY REBUTTAL: Despite being away from India, you are clearly parroting the communal politicians of India,
with whom scaring in the name of religion is the only strategy to seize political power.
We know, induction in the cabinet is the Prime Minister’s prerogative. Yes, that is true that an instigator of 1984
riots was given a high position in Union cabinet. But it goes to the credit of the government that the sentiments of
the Sikh community were respected and exit of the minister was assured to assuage the feelings. Respect for the
human rights is best explained by the initiatives of the Manmohan Singh government in rehabilitating the victims of
1984 riots. Compare it with the plight of the Muslims, who fell victims to the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Were not
both these communities victims to the similar religious fanaticism? Then why have the Muslims’ rehabilitation been
ignored and who is responsible? If you raise the issue of the Sikhs, you shall be just enough to raise the issue of
the Muslims. If you don’t do it, you are just resorting to instigation in the name of human rights.
Your allegations against the UPA government on the Ram Setu are equally instigational. You know it well that the
government has respected and honored the sentiments of the Hindus, even facing the wrath of DMK supremo,
Karunanidhi.
You act like bogeymen spreading scare when you talk of force conversions to Christianize India. Are you telling
the nation that whole of our government machinery has been tipped in favor of conversion? Are their no Hindu
Chief Ministers, State Secretaries, Police Chiefs or magistrates who can protect the Hindus from a handful of
Christian missionaries? You were talking of force conversions even at a time when Sonia Gandhi had not joined
politics or perhaps even before she came to India. Now, you are transferring the same blame to her.
Awaken with one point. When a senate in an American State opens its session with Vedic hymns, your joy knows
no bounds. But if a Christian is found distributing the Bible in India, your people there just behead him. That is
why Mahatma Gandhi is much above you all, as he put Ishwar and Allah at one level.
YOUR CHARGES # 7 & 8. You say that Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and also Rahul Gandhi “looted the
country on large scale.” Money came from Bofor, Food for Oil Scam and that $ 200 million have been deposited
in secret Swiss bank accounts.
MY REBUTTAL: Folks, I am using common sense while defending Sonia Gandhi, while you have not used it
while accusing her.
You are talking of secret bank accounts. Where is the secret if you know it and you are even telling the figures? If
you know the figures, you might be knowing the name of the banks also, where money is parked, and also the
sources and trails of money. Do you know that a minor sting operation by a few journalists, catching a few
Parliamentarians accepting bribe for asking questions (Cash for Querry Scandal) resulted in the dismissal of the
MPs. You are sitting on such a big sting operation and doing nothing. Why is it so? Are you being merciful to
Sonia Gandhi or just resorting to rumor-mongering ? Those who read your advertisement in the New York Times
would expect an explanation from you.
You have mentioned Food for Oil Scam. For just a blot on his personality, Sonia Gandhi’s Party, the INC, ensured
the exit of K.Natwar Singh from the Union Cabinet. Compare it with your politicians in the NDA government. The
Petrol Pump allotment Scam that came under the scanner resulted in the cancellation of allotment by the
Supreme Court. Was any minister or politician involved removed from any position? This is the difference
between the leadership of one Party that does not tolerate indiscipline and the other that allows its stalwarts to do
what they please.
You and your ilk talk too much of the Bofor, whenever you talk of Sonia Gandhi.. History tells us that after Rajiv,
there was VP Singh government, then there were two coalition governments, there were two-time regimes of
Vajpayee, and also Supreme Court verdict on Bofor. What were all these governments doing? If the Supreme
Court verdict does not convince you and if your governments and politicians cannot provide you with dependable
evidence, then the people of India have no option but to be convinced that when people like you talk against
Sonia Gandhi, they talk only fiction, not facts.
NOT A REBUTTAL BUT A DUTY: My duty as a devotee of secularism and forces of secularism will not be
complete if I fail to analyze the environment in which such falsehood is propagated. My observation is that the
NRIs in America are more communal than Indians in India. Pro-Sonia Gandhi secular organizations, either don’t
exist or exist meekly. There are strong secular Indians but no strong secular organizations and hence they fail
miserably in the face of such onslaughts by communal forces.
========================================================================================
CLICK TO WATCH:
A video that promotes medical tourism in India
New York,
October 11,07.
In the beginning of this month, Sonia Gandhi came to New York on the invitation of the United Nations. This
global organization, the bulwark of the global peace, had recognized, though late, that the non-violence is the
soul of peace and that Mahatma Gandhi is the latest apostle in the line of those who rise above communal, racial
and national narrow-mindedness and embrace humanity. October 2nd is the birthday of this Mahatma (great soul)
and the United Nations declares this day as the global Non-Violence Day. An honor to India! And yet another
honor; the leader of the party that was nurtured and brought to maturity by none other than Mahatma Gandhi
himself, was invited to launch the day. Sonia Gandhi is the leader chosen for it.
A few NRI organizations in USA could not digest this honor to the leader of Mahatma Gandhi’s Party, an indirect
honor to India. They used (rather misused) their financial clout and spent $ 125,000.00 (the average page price
for the New York Times’ ad) to tell the Americans 8 points about Sonia Gandhi.
Apparently, one page advertisement in the New York Times, Saturday, October, October 6, 07 (Page A-11) is an
attack on Sonia Gandhi’s personality. But an honest observer and analyst will see behind the wording,
phraseology and style an intention and an attempt to demolish a government and a movement that is holding on
to the culture and spirit of secularism and co-existence in India.
The only safe conclusion that we shall draw is that these NRI critics of Sonia Gandhi are acting as the surrogates
of the communal politicians in India. They are attacking Sonia Gandhi as they know well at heart that it is she who
halted the onslaughts of the communal forces on the soil of Mother India. Whatever the future historians write
about her, they all will agree with me that it is Sonia Gandhi who saved the citadel of India’s pluralism. No wonder
that the LEFT in India, despite serious differences with the UPA government, don’t want to abandon the boat, of
which Sonia Gandhi is the captain.
However, just accusing Sonia Gandhi’s critics and adversaries and just praising her does not and will not carry
weight with my readers, unless I refute their charges one by one and point by point.
But before I do that, I will not hesitate to fault them on one point. Could they not think of some better and noble
cause to advertise for or spend money on, instead of spending $ 125,000.00 to spread misinformation about a
visiting national leader, on a mission to take India to yet other heights of popularity. I am not aware but I have a
gut feeling that no other nationality in America would resort to such tactics to defame their leader among other
communities. We do have different stands, different opinions and different ideologies, but shall we resort to
character assassination to make our stands and differences known. Sonia Gandhi’s adversaries shall sit and
answer honestly: “Was it not unethical on their part?” Well, they have their own hidden agenda and that ism as I
have explained above, to demolish pluralism and eliminate its vanguards. So, let us come to the point and discuss
eight charges, they levied to defame Sonia Gandhi and spent $ 125,000.00 to vainly reach their goal.
YOUR FIRST CHARGE: You say Sonia Maino Gandhi is not related to Mahatma Gandhi and is just
misappropriating it for political mileage and international legitimacy.
MY REBUTTAL: You use “MAINO”, intentionally to remind us of her parentage and origin. It is a mischievous
way of harping on a point when we all know that she has never obscured her nationality or parentage and that the
Supreme Court has validated her Indian nationality. And why shall she misappropriate? Did she ever say that she
is related to Mahatma Gandhi? And is she the first one in her family to use the word “Gandhi” with her name? Are
you really ignorant of the fact that late Shrimati Indira Gandhi was already using it before Sonia came to India as a
daughter-in-law of the former Prime Minister? Are you really ignorant of the reality that many of our own sisters or
daughters stop carrying the suffix like “Patel, Mehta, Bajwa” when they marry an American boy? The example is
Sunita William, the renowned astronaut of today.
Why shall Sonia Gandhi search for political mileage? She has already won political ascendency by saving her
party from going into oblivion and by saving India from falling to communal disruptions.. And this is the thorn that
pricks her adversaries.
YOUR SECOND CHARGE: You say Sonia Gandhi is vindictive and undemocratic and that her party uses
various mechanisms including raids to subjugate opposition.
MY REBUTTAL: Well, accusation is no argument. Come clean with facts. What the NRIs in America hear
through news channels are about the raids on a certain Malhotra, a petty canteen contractor, who has grabbed
landed property worth ten crore rupees, has thirty luxury cars with VIP plate numbers parked outside his house.
We are hearing about raids on an army General with disproportionate wealth at his disposal. Do you want to stop
these raids? Do you sympathize with these criminals who loot our national wealth? Can you give just one example
when an opposition politician or activist was tax-raided and silenced? Then what do you mean when you talk of
raids to subjugate opposition? I have not heard of a single such example? Where did you get this news from?
YOUR THIRD CHARGE: You say that Sonia Gandhi’s Party has pro-terrorist policies and that is why India
has the highest number of terrorist victims after Iraq. Her Party is requesting clemency for Afzal Guru, the master
mind behind attack on Parliament, for vote bank.
MY REBUTTAL: Perhaps, your charge emanates from the fact that the UPA regime repealed POTA, which was
imposed on India by the NDA regime. It is an open secret that POTA resulted in fake encounters and the profiling
of minorities, particularly of the Muslims. It spread a nation-wide fear of police, with unfortunately no reprieve from
terrorism. Attack on our Parliament was during the non-Congress regime.
What label or tag you will fix on this event when a Union Minister of NDA government escorted some terrorists to
be released in Kabul in exchange for 116 Indian passengers locked in a hijacked Indian Airline plan? I will be the
last man to criticize this move. In my opinion, it was the only best option left with the government to get back alive
our passengers on board and to spare their relatives back home of an agony, beyond words.. Nor will I blame the
NDA regime as “soft to terrorists”, simply becauseit was then that the terrorists made an attempt to raze our
Parliament to ground.
I only want to shake the critics of Sonia Gandhi to understand and realize that the terrorists attack India because
India is a pluralistic state and the terrorists don’t tolerate co-existence of the Hindus and Muslims. They disrupt
pluralism in order to create Taliban type regimes. On the terrorist front, India can’t boast of successes and one
reason, which is hard to digest, is the domestic communal hatred, we ourselves encourage.
The terrorists are our unidentified and invisible enemies. But you are our own people. At least, you shall not
disrupt pluralism by instigating Sikhs and Hindus as is clear from your following two charges. In this way, your
goals are true replica of the goals of terrorists-to disrupt pluralism. Only strategies differ. If you love India, you
better abandon this disruption strategy and work for pluralism..
You want to hear about Afzal Guru.. Trust me, I am ignorant of the sequence of events. I read that Afzal Guru
says that he was framed. Is framing not a usual practice of India’s police system? It will continue till the system is
completely overhauled. Afzal Guru may be speaking truth or telling lies. I don’t know. But one thing I do know that
as an Indian citizen, he has the constitutional right to reach any level in search of justice, request for clemency no
exception. It is a human right and those who talk of human rights shall respect this right for every one, irrespective
of caste, creed, gender. Nathu Ram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi. Was he denied the right to fight a legal battle?
YOUR CHARGES # 4,5 & 6. In these charges relating to communal instigation, you instigate Sikhs by
reminding them that an instigator of 1984 anti-Sikh riots was given a ministerial berth in the Union Cabinet. You
instigate Hindus on the Ram Setu issue and you scare them that their religion is in danger because of force
conversions going on in India with the tacit support of Sonia Gandhi.
MY REBUTTAL: Despite being away from India, you are clearly parroting the communal politicians of India,
with whom scaring in the name of religion is the only strategy to seize political power.
We know, induction in the cabinet is the Prime Minister’s prerogative. Yes, that is true that an instigator of 1984
riots was given a high position in Union cabinet. But it goes to the credit of the government that the sentiments of
the Sikh community were respected and exit of the minister was assured to assuage the feelings. Respect for the
human rights is best explained by the initiatives of the Manmohan Singh government in rehabilitating the victims of
1984 riots. Compare it with the plight of the Muslims, who fell victims to the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Were not
both these communities victims to the similar religious fanaticism? Then why have the Muslims’ rehabilitation been
ignored and who is responsible? If you raise the issue of the Sikhs, you shall be just enough to raise the issue of
the Muslims. If you don’t do it, you are just resorting to instigation in the name of human rights.
Your allegations against the UPA government on the Ram Setu are equally instigational. You know it well that the
government has respected and honored the sentiments of the Hindus, even facing the wrath of DMK supremo,
Karunanidhi.
You act like bogeymen spreading scare when you talk of force conversions to Christianize India. Are you telling
the nation that whole of our government machinery has been tipped in favor of conversion? Are their no Hindu
Chief Ministers, State Secretaries, Police Chiefs or magistrates who can protect the Hindus from a handful of
Christian missionaries? You were talking of force conversions even at a time when Sonia Gandhi had not joined
politics or perhaps even before she came to India. Now, you are transferring the same blame to her.
Awaken with one point. When a senate in an American State opens its session with Vedic hymns, your joy knows
no bounds. But if a Christian is found distributing the Bible in India, your people there just behead him. That is
why Mahatma Gandhi is much above you all, as he put Ishwar and Allah at one level.
YOUR CHARGES # 7 & 8. You say that Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and also Rahul Gandhi “looted the
country on large scale.” Money came from Bofor, Food for Oil Scam and that $ 200 million have been deposited
in secret Swiss bank accounts.
MY REBUTTAL: Folks, I am using common sense while defending Sonia Gandhi, while you have not used it
while accusing her.
You are talking of secret bank accounts. Where is the secret if you know it and you are even telling the figures? If
you know the figures, you might be knowing the name of the banks also, where money is parked, and also the
sources and trails of money. Do you know that a minor sting operation by a few journalists, catching a few
Parliamentarians accepting bribe for asking questions (Cash for Querry Scandal) resulted in the dismissal of the
MPs. You are sitting on such a big sting operation and doing nothing. Why is it so? Are you being merciful to
Sonia Gandhi or just resorting to rumor-mongering ? Those who read your advertisement in the New York Times
would expect an explanation from you.
You have mentioned Food for Oil Scam. For just a blot on his personality, Sonia Gandhi’s Party, the INC, ensured
the exit of K.Natwar Singh from the Union Cabinet. Compare it with your politicians in the NDA government. The
Petrol Pump allotment Scam that came under the scanner resulted in the cancellation of allotment by the
Supreme Court. Was any minister or politician involved removed from any position? This is the difference
between the leadership of one Party that does not tolerate indiscipline and the other that allows its stalwarts to do
what they please.
You and your ilk talk too much of the Bofor, whenever you talk of Sonia Gandhi.. History tells us that after Rajiv,
there was VP Singh government, then there were two coalition governments, there were two-time regimes of
Vajpayee, and also Supreme Court verdict on Bofor. What were all these governments doing? If the Supreme
Court verdict does not convince you and if your governments and politicians cannot provide you with dependable
evidence, then the people of India have no option but to be convinced that when people like you talk against
Sonia Gandhi, they talk only fiction, not facts.
NOT A REBUTTAL BUT A DUTY: My duty as a devotee of secularism and forces of secularism will not be
complete if I fail to analyze the environment in which such falsehood is propagated. My observation is that the
NRIs in America are more communal than Indians in India. Pro-Sonia Gandhi secular organizations, either don’t
exist or exist meekly. There are strong secular Indians but no strong secular organizations and hence they fail
miserably in the face of such onslaughts by communal forces.
========================================================================================
CLICK TO WATCH:
A video that promotes medical tourism in India
| CRITICS OF SONIA GANDHI: surrogates of communalism |
